Reflective Media Reviews

Category: Animated

Toy Story 4 ****

Toy Story 4 Movie Poster

How could this not be a fantastic film? You’ve Woody. And Buzz. And the rest of the gang. You’ve perfect childhood imagination. You have danger and suspense. You have sprinkles of romance. Deeper, you have a quest to understand who you are and where you fit in and why you are *you* among the others…

Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour 2015 *****

Short films…. Short films can appear to explore a single topic, but on viewing and reflecting, one realizes how complex each is, even in barely fifteen minutes. The short films selected to tour after this year’s Sundance Film Festival are no different: complex, breathtaking, beautiful, deep, heartwarming, and utterly strange. The first film, SMILF, seems…

Inside Out *****

What a delightfully charming movie!   Inside Out explores how our emotions help guide—and misguide—us as they take the controls inside of eleven-year-old Riley’s mind while she navigates growing out of childhood to an age and time when emotions become more layered, more affected, and more unpredictably complex. Her tale is built around her difficulties of…

Oscar Shorts, Animated *****

This is the first I’ve seen the animated Oscar-nominated shorts. Thus, I was ill-equipped to be able to better warn my girlfriends who came along with me. No, these are not happy, singing Disny-style animated pieces. What they are, though, are an eclectic blend of fantastic displays of depth, emotion, imagination, and realism. Some made…

The Lego Movie ****

Per the critics on Fandango, The Lego Movie was a “must go” flick. Per my friend’s friend’s review, it had lots to offer. Per me, I wonder how many people will be satisfied to stop at the surface and believe they saw the underlying themes, only to ignore the deeper current I felt running through…