Our grandparents went to movie theaters for their newsreels, serials, movie trailers and at last, hours of entertainment where the writing and talent overshadowed all else. At home, their radios provided hours of news, music and entertainment.
My generation, those pesky Baby Boomers, congregated in living rooms from coast to coast first to watch first what our parents watched: variety shows, family friendly comedy shows, Westerns. However, Saturday mornings belonged to us. We watched rerun after rerun of Our Gang, Tarzan, Roy Rogers and the best things ever (to us) cartoons. We went to theaters to see action movies, spectacular Biblical epics, and as time passed, Westerns from different points of view, stories that mirrored the tumultuous times we survived. As we aged, VCR tapes and machines let us start manipulating time by allowing us to watch things at our leisure.'
Our kids had to choose where to pay attention. Would it be regular television with its sitcoms, detective shows, comedies or cable, which added hundreds of selections on top of those? Add to that first video game systems, rental VCR's, then DVDs. Time meant little to Gen X. It's their children who have technology as toy. They have 3D phones that do everything ancient color TVs did when Baby Boomers were planted in front of them. The current youth can become immersed in a movie, game or show on TV, their phone, laptop, tablet, a theater and now, they can watch a series made with them in mind: available only in ditigal ether.
"H+," a digital science fiction series, was filmed earlier this year in Chile. I know about it because I know one of the minds behind the project.
Jason Taylor, president of production at Bryan Singer's Bad Hat Harry Productions, sent me the trailer for "H+" that was shown at San Diego's "Comic-Con." Also in the project is Playtone, the production company owned by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. The combination of Bad Hat Harry and Playtone has caused a anticipatory buzz not only at Comic-Con, but in the entertainment business itself. Many production companies will be watching "H+" and if it's a success, look for a new venue for all genres of entertainment.
To check out the trailer, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlXmsNK_V4k
From producer Bryan Singer ( X-Men , X2 , X-Men : First Class , Superman Returns ) comes a Comic-Con exclusive first look at H+, the forthcoming Warner Premiere/Dolphin Entertainment web series directed by Stewart Hendler (Sorority Row) and written and created by John Cabrera and Cosimo De Tommaso. H+ takes place in a near-future world where a tiny and stunning new piece of technology lies at the center of a dark and epic mystery.many thanks to Warner Digital for supplying us with this trailer
Friday, July 29, 2011
The new venue for entertainment series: The Internet
Our grandparents went to movie theaters for their newsreels, serials, movie trailers and at last, hours of entertainment where the writing and talent overshadowed all else. At home, their radios provided hours of news, music and entertainment. My generation, those pesky Baby Boomers, congregated in living rooms from coast to coast first to watch first what our parents watched: variety shows, family friendly comedy shows, Westerns. However, Saturday mornings belonged to us. We watched rerun after rerun of Our Gang, Tarzan, Roy Rogers and the best things ever (to us) cartoons. We went to theaters to see action movies, spectacular Biblical epics, and as time passed, Westerns from different points of view, stories that mirrored the tumultuous times we survived. As we aged, VCR tapes and machines let us start manipulating time by allowing us to watch things at our leisure. Our kids had to choose where to pay attention. Would it be regular television with its sitcoms, detective shows, comedies or cable, which added hundreds of selections on top of those? Add to that first video game systems, rental VCR's, then DVDs. Time meant little to Gen X. It's their children who have technology as toy. They have 3D phones that do everything ancient color TVs did when Baby Boomers were planted in front of them. The current youth can become immersed in a movie, game or show on TV, their phone, laptop, tablet, a theater and now, they can watch a series made with them in mind: available only in ditigal ether. "H+," a digital science fiction series, was filmed earlier this year in Chile. I know about it because I know one of the minds behind the project. Jason Taylor, president of production at Bryan Singer's Bad Hat Harry Productions, sent me the trailer for "H+" that was shown at San Diego's "Comic-Con." Also in the project is Playtone, the production company owned by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. The combination of Bad Hat Harry and Playtone has caused a anticipatory buzz not only at Comic-Con, but in the entertainment business itself. Many production companies will be watching "H+" and if it's a success, look for a new venue for all genres of entertainment.To check out the trailer, visit: From producer Bryan Singer ( X-Men , X2 , X-Men : First Class , Superman Returns ) comes a Comic-Con exclusive first look at H+, the forthcoming Warner Premiere/Dolphin Entertainment web series directed by Stewart Hendler (Sorority Row) and written and created by John Cabrera and Cosimo De Tommaso. H+ takes place in a near-future world where a tiny and stunning new piece of technology lies at the center of a dark and epic mystery. many thanks to Warner Digital for supplying us with this trailer | draft |
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Captain America Swings Into Action in This Summer of Superheroes
Come back Friday afternoon for the full "Captain America: the First Avenger" review.
It's rated PG-13 and it's 2 hours 5 minutes long.
For now, let's say that this is the hero movie we've been waiting for.
Chris Evans does a fine job of playing Steve Rogers as the scrawny, short but true hearted 4F draft reject during World War II, and the brawny, brainy superhero who, despite his great looks and amazing physique, cannot talk to a girl.
His nemesis is Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), a former Nazi who lost the skin and hair on his head while experimenting with super soldier injections. He found an ancient Nordic cube with the power to obliterate life.
The two fight it out in big, bad 3-D and you will duck when Cap's shield comes flying off the screen.
I am giving this movie 4 stars and saying I'd leave my husband right now if Evans crooked his finger my direction.
I'll be back Friday afternoon with more details.
It's rated PG-13 and it's 2 hours 5 minutes long.
For now, let's say that this is the hero movie we've been waiting for.
Chris Evans does a fine job of playing Steve Rogers as the scrawny, short but true hearted 4F draft reject during World War II, and the brawny, brainy superhero who, despite his great looks and amazing physique, cannot talk to a girl.
His nemesis is Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), a former Nazi who lost the skin and hair on his head while experimenting with super soldier injections. He found an ancient Nordic cube with the power to obliterate life.
The two fight it out in big, bad 3-D and you will duck when Cap's shield comes flying off the screen.
I am giving this movie 4 stars and saying I'd leave my husband right now if Evans crooked his finger my direction.
I'll be back Friday afternoon with more details.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
"Thor" Great Start to Summer Movie Season
Summer and big budget action movies go together like, say, hammer and nails.
That said, "Thor," is the perfect movie to see with plenty of popcorn, sodas and friends. Its exquisite combination of the structurally amazing Asgard, home of the Norse gods, and a New Mexico desert on Earth, home of humans and an essential part of the story.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his adopted brother Loki (Tim Hiddleston) are brought up as equals by their father Odin (Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins). It's clear early on that the brothers have different ways of solving problems.
Thor, tall and imposing god of thunder, wants to pound sense into or life out of anyone he believes need it, especially if it means using his magic hammer Mjolnir. Still, Thor is the darling of Asgard, drinking and joking with friends, flirting and kissing all the women.
The blond and blue-eyed Thor, sure he will be king, keeps the dark-haired Loki in place.
While Loki doesn't seem to mind, he works quietly behind the scenes, making deals, using illusion, magic and duplicity to get his way.
Odin is ready to make Thor king and is in the middle of the coronation ceremony when there's an emergency.
Asgard has a truce with the Frost Giants and the movie starts rolling when the giants break into Odin's castle to steal back their best weapon. Thor and Loki fend the giants off, but not before the machine goes missing.
Thor takes his brother and his best fighters to the frost giant home world Jotunheim to punish the king and the giants for taking back their weapon that can freeze anything it is pointed at. The Norse fighters are out manned and Odin must come to their rescue and beg the king of the frost giants to continue the truce. To do that, Thor must be punished.
Thor returns, ready to become king and continue the war on Jotunheim.
Odin shocks his son by telling him he still acts like a boy, needs to grow up, but especially, he needs to learn humility.
Thor is stripped of his godly powers and exiled to Earth until he learns his lesson. Then Odin takes Mjolinir, whispers a spell that will again imbue power to it, and flings it off Asgard as well, sending it spinning into space.
In New Mexico, a trio of scientists are tracking strange things happening in the atmosphere.
Jane Foster (Oscar-winner Natalie Portman), assistant Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and Foster's mentor Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) are at the right place at the right time when they see the sky truly misbehave, first sending a man tumbling through the air, falling hard in a circle of runes.
At another New Mexico site, another object hurtles from the sky and leaves a deep crater where it lands. Mjolinir is wedged into a piece of rock, much like King Arthur's Sword in the Stone.
Jane, Darcy and Erik are more concerned with the unconscious man. He wakes up, asks where he is and where his hammer is. The researchers are intrigued by the man's speech and strange mannerisms. They let him clean up and give him some clothing before taking him to a hospital.
The women in the audience will appreciate the scene with Thor is wearing only a pair of jeans. Hemsworth's physique is worth enjoying for its sheer beauty. The gasps of women in the audience were enough to prove it was good to keep it in. My thought, with dropped jaw, was "Wow."
Thor likes Jane, and starts using his killer smile and big blue eyes to befriend her. She thinks he is insane until he begins talking about Rainbow bridges, particle physics and wormholes.
He finds she understands the basics, but when he explains that magic and science are the same where he is from, he draws her a map of his world and neighboring planets, including Earth, that are interconnected with these theoretical bridges.
He struggles with the hospital staff and is sedated, waking in restraints. He hears about his hammer and determines to get out. Jane drops by to see him and discovers he is gone.
The government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. has taken over the site, including all of Jane's notes and equipment. She is furious and when she meets Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), he is little help to her.
Thor breaks into the military installation, easily overcoming the soldiers guarding the makeshift base. He makes his way to the crater, and finds he cannot separate the hammer from its base. He is gobsmacked, finally believing that his father did exactly what he said he would do, and he was no longer a god, but a mortal man.
As he is escorted to a jail cell by soldiers, Thor manages to get Jane's notebook for her. When she comes to visit, she is delighted by its return.
When more strange things start happening in the sky, Coulson has a change of heart and returns all of Jane's equipment, plus the help of Darcy and Erik -- but only if they stay at the base and help.
In Asgard, Odin has fallen into a deep trance, leaving Loki to rule. Finally the adopted son can put his plans in motion. He sends a giant, fiery metal monster to kill Thor and will kill his father himself.
The metal monster tears up a tiny New Mexico town before getting to the base. Thor is trying his best to distract the thing, and in his human form his is bleeding and battered. At last, while fighting for people who need him, he realizes the lessons his father was trying to teach.
Thor reaches out his hand and this time, it comes flying to him. It goes easily into his hand and his immortality and wonderful armor is restored.
The humans see this and Coulson knows Thor will be a great addition to S.H.I.E.L.D.
However, before the thunder god can start work, he vanishes.
Thor is returned to Asgard to find his father well and back in power. Loki is absent, and is trying to kill both brother and father so he can rule and use the frost giants as allies.
The final battle between Loki and Thor on the Rainbow Bridge is a spectacular set piece and wonderful to watch.
Director Kenneth Branagh is better known for his Shakespearean movies, but his foray into superhero action movies works on every level. People from Asgard speak in beautiful Shakespearean English and dress from that era.
While on Earth, Thor charms Jane with his quaint expressions and mannerisms as they fall in love. He is happy to stay on Earth if he can stay with her. While Jane, missing Thor, tries to think of a way to get to Asgard, Thor's absence sets up both a story line in next year's "Avengers" flick and probably a sequel to this movie.
Until then, seriously, splurge on the popcorn and other theater treats, grab a seat and prepare to enjoy one of the most interesting superhero origin stories in some time.
And, like the other Marvel Comic superhero movies featuring members of the Avengers, watch for Stan Lee, and stay for the teaser at the end of the credits.
Thor
4 Stars out of 4
4 Stars out of 4
Rated PG 13 (sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence)
Run time: 1:54
Starring: Chris Hemworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Idris Elba
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Hometown Actor comes home to premiere new movie.
Hi everyone,
My longtime friend and Choctaw High School graduate Ryan Merriman will come home May 13 through May 15.
His new movie "The 5th Quarter" debuts then and he'll be at the AMC Quail Springs Theatre to give autographs before both the 7 and 9 p.m. showings.
I'm running the press release just as I got it (without phone numbers, sorry) so make plans to support Oklahomans in movies and Ryan in general.
Currently, he is playing the villainous Ian Thomas in the ABC Family cable hit, "Pretty Little Liars."
ACTOR RYAN MERRIMAN BRINGS HOLLYWOOD HOME TO OKC!
Hollywood actor and Oklahoma’s own, Ryan Merriman, is proud to announce the Oklahoma premiere of his latest film, “The 5th Quarter”.
“The 5th Quarter” will premiere at the AMC Quail Springs Mall Theatre in Oklahoma City. The film will have a regular theatre run, so you will have several opportunities to catch the show!However, as a special treat to fans, thirty minutes before the 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. show times (check theatre listing for exact evening show times when they are posted later), Ryan will be at the theatre to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take pictures on the evenings of Friday, May 13th, Saturday, May 14th and Sunday, May 15th.
Ryan is honored to be back home in Oklahoma during this exciting time and share the remarkable and inspirational story of the Abbate family with his home state fans. “The 5th Quarter”, starring Ryan Merriman, Aidan Quinn and Andie MacDowell, is a true story of the strength of family, Wake Forest football, and triumph over tragedy. It is the story of Luke Abbate, a 15 year old who in his untimely death was able to give the gift of life as an organ donor to save the lives of five others. Luke’s life inspired his brother Jon (Played by Ryan Merriman) to lead Wake Forest University to their first ACC Championship in nearly 40 years.
Fans of the ABC Family hit, Pretty Little Liars, will enjoy seeing Ryan in the role of Jon Abbate. Ryan also plays Ian Thomas, the sinister charmer…the snake with blue eyes…that fans love to hate in the Pretty Little Liars series. This is a great opportunity for fans of “PLL” to meet Ryan in person and enjoy his newest film release, “The 5th Quarter”.
For more information about Ryan Merriman and the film, visit these website links.
Friday, March 4, 2011
"Beastly" Mess
I know millions of dollars are spent by movie studios to ensure a movie will appeal to the widest possible audience. It's to their advantage to do this.
However, whoever Paramount Pictures hired to research the audience members for "Beastly" must have spent their time playing with the aps on their phones instead.
The trailers promised a touching remake of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale with super hot stars Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens. It looked like a promising date movie.
Every promise was broken. I honestly believe I could have rewritten this story and directed it with better results.
"Beastly" is solely for the young girls who also love the "Twilight" series.
The plot stars Kyle (Pettyfer), a young, rich, arrogant and of course ridiculously handsome young man deliberately using his looks to get whatever he wants, and amuses his minions by needling the "ugly" kids at his school, including a Wiccan outcast, Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen).
Kendra taunts back, and smiles mysteriously when Kyle tries to best her.
It's at a dance where Kendra casts her spell, telling the spoiled boy he is going to have unpleasant facts to deal with if he ever expects to get what he really wants.
At the fringes of this crowd is Lindy (Hudgens), a beautiful scholarship student who watches Kyle with puppy-dog eyes, and something in him responds to her at a dance where their have their photograph taken.
We have our noses rubbed into the fact that all Kyle's actions are designed to get his news anchor father to notice him and show even the tiniest bit of affection.
After the dance, Kyle discovers his outer beauty has been stripped away, leaving the ugly person underneath to face the world with no crutches. Kendra has told him he has one year to find someone who will love him exactly the way he is, or he will stay in his tattooed and scarred body.
The sole bright spot is Kyle's blind tutor, wryly played by Neil Patrick Harris.
If you are not familiar with this plot, don't spend good money on this movie to discover what happens. Either rent Disney's animated classic, "Beauty and the Beast" or the classic, live-action 1976 Hallmark Hall of Fame version with George C. Scott.
Seriously, only tween and young teen girls will enjoy this movie. It would be best to let them see this one on their own and save your own money to see any other movie.
However, whoever Paramount Pictures hired to research the audience members for "Beastly" must have spent their time playing with the aps on their phones instead.
The trailers promised a touching remake of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale with super hot stars Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens. It looked like a promising date movie.
Every promise was broken. I honestly believe I could have rewritten this story and directed it with better results.
"Beastly" is solely for the young girls who also love the "Twilight" series.
The plot stars Kyle (Pettyfer), a young, rich, arrogant and of course ridiculously handsome young man deliberately using his looks to get whatever he wants, and amuses his minions by needling the "ugly" kids at his school, including a Wiccan outcast, Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen).
Kendra taunts back, and smiles mysteriously when Kyle tries to best her.
It's at a dance where Kendra casts her spell, telling the spoiled boy he is going to have unpleasant facts to deal with if he ever expects to get what he really wants.
At the fringes of this crowd is Lindy (Hudgens), a beautiful scholarship student who watches Kyle with puppy-dog eyes, and something in him responds to her at a dance where their have their photograph taken.
We have our noses rubbed into the fact that all Kyle's actions are designed to get his news anchor father to notice him and show even the tiniest bit of affection.
After the dance, Kyle discovers his outer beauty has been stripped away, leaving the ugly person underneath to face the world with no crutches. Kendra has told him he has one year to find someone who will love him exactly the way he is, or he will stay in his tattooed and scarred body.
The sole bright spot is Kyle's blind tutor, wryly played by Neil Patrick Harris.
If you are not familiar with this plot, don't spend good money on this movie to discover what happens. Either rent Disney's animated classic, "Beauty and the Beast" or the classic, live-action 1976 Hallmark Hall of Fame version with George C. Scott.
Seriously, only tween and young teen girls will enjoy this movie. It would be best to let them see this one on their own and save your own money to see any other movie.
- "Beastly"
- No stars
- Rated PG-13
- 1:35 minutes
- Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens, Mary-Kate Olsen, Neil Patrick Harris, Peter Krause.
- (Language including crude comments, brief violence and some thematic material)
"Rango" Wanders the West
You'd think an animated movie from Paramount and Nickelodeon would know how to reach a target audience.
"Rango" was promoted endlessly (it seemed) on cable's Nickelodeon channels, which generally are geared to children and young teens.
In reality, this movie should have been aimed at adults. It rightfully is rated PG, but the storyline and the homages to classic movies will be lost on young viewers, easily losing their attention within the first hour and they never get it back.
Grownups, though, will have a good time.
"Rango" (voice of Johnny Depp) is a lonely chameleon who spends his days directing himself in various theatrical productions. His companions are a wind-up goldfish and a mangled torso of a female doll. He's in a glass aquarium, moving with his owners, when his world is literally shattered around him.
A bump in the road has launched his aquarium out of the car and onto the roadway. He lives, but is stuck in the desert.
He meets the cause of his accident, an armadillo (voice of Alfred Molina) who talks of finding the "Spirit of the West" on the other side of the highway. He tells Rango to walk into the desert, where he will find a town.
On the way, he meets a feisty female lizard named Bean (voice of Isla Fisher) who tells him about the town named Dirt and her drought-stricken ranch.
The town is a water-starved Wild West wasteland, peopled by critters who would be at home at the Mos Eisley bar on Tatooine.
The reason for this explains so much of the movie.
Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), owned by George Lucas, did the animation for "Rango" and it's quickly apparent.
You'll find creatures who look like Ewoks and Jabba the Hutt for starters.
The mayor is an ancient tortoise (voice of Ned Beatty), who provides water for the town in a quirky ceremony each Wednesday, preaching a message of hope and future wetness.
Rango uses all his acting skills to convince the citizens of Dirt he is one bad-ass chameleon. His bragging gets him a badge and the job of sheriff.
When the water runs out and the bank is robbed of its last drop of liquid gold (more water), Rango starts to wonder what's going on and who is behind it. He has an idea.
A posse goes out to find the bank robbers and run straight into trouble. The robbers are a motley crew of moles, perhaps a possum and several other grimy varmints -- and they all have huge families.
A fight, and a chase featuring varmints flying on bats playing a hillbilly version of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" ensues. It's a strange combination of "Apocalypse Now" and the X-Wing Fighter's run on the Death Star, and it has nothing to do with this movie.
That, and a drawn-out lesson that "He who controls water controls the town" makes the middle third of this movie almost -- yes, almost -- boring. The children in the audience totally lost interest in the screening, and the adults could see where the film was headed.
The best, and another useless scene -- has Rango run out of town by Rattlesnake Jake (voice of Bill Nighy) -- and bravely crossing the highway where he does find the "Spirit of the West." The "Spirit" (voice of Timothy Oyphant) is a strangely animated cross of Clint Eastwood as the "Man With No Name" and "House's" Hugh Laurie, and he advises the emotionally lost lizard to return to Dirt, because you can't leave your own story.
Before he returns, Rango discovers where the water has gone and uses his discovery to plan for his return to Dirt.
Rango's arrival back in Dirt brings a tip of the hat to "High Noon" and a long delayed payoff for the few children who managed to keep track of the convoluted plot.
Depp's Rango is a homely little lizard, but his winning personality makes him popular in his new home. Bean is funny and her quiet crush on Rango is as sweet as the town's acceptance of everyone's quirks.
If your younger children must see "Rango," take them to a matinée. It's a good bet for a date night movie for older teens who have seen a lot of movies or adults who will get a kick out of counting how many movies were used to put this show together, including Depp's brief hello to Captain Jack Sparrow.
There are plenty of places for adults to laugh with the kids, but so many more that only they will enjoy. It's something to consider when thinking of seeing this movie.
"Rango"
2 1/2 stars
Rated PG
1:47 minutes
Vocal Cast: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Timothy Olyphant .
(Rude humor, language, action and smoking)
"Rango" was promoted endlessly (it seemed) on cable's Nickelodeon channels, which generally are geared to children and young teens.
In reality, this movie should have been aimed at adults. It rightfully is rated PG, but the storyline and the homages to classic movies will be lost on young viewers, easily losing their attention within the first hour and they never get it back.
Grownups, though, will have a good time.
"Rango" (voice of Johnny Depp) is a lonely chameleon who spends his days directing himself in various theatrical productions. His companions are a wind-up goldfish and a mangled torso of a female doll. He's in a glass aquarium, moving with his owners, when his world is literally shattered around him.
A bump in the road has launched his aquarium out of the car and onto the roadway. He lives, but is stuck in the desert.
He meets the cause of his accident, an armadillo (voice of Alfred Molina) who talks of finding the "Spirit of the West" on the other side of the highway. He tells Rango to walk into the desert, where he will find a town.
On the way, he meets a feisty female lizard named Bean (voice of Isla Fisher) who tells him about the town named Dirt and her drought-stricken ranch.
The town is a water-starved Wild West wasteland, peopled by critters who would be at home at the Mos Eisley bar on Tatooine.
The reason for this explains so much of the movie.
Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), owned by George Lucas, did the animation for "Rango" and it's quickly apparent.
You'll find creatures who look like Ewoks and Jabba the Hutt for starters.
The mayor is an ancient tortoise (voice of Ned Beatty), who provides water for the town in a quirky ceremony each Wednesday, preaching a message of hope and future wetness.
Rango uses all his acting skills to convince the citizens of Dirt he is one bad-ass chameleon. His bragging gets him a badge and the job of sheriff.
When the water runs out and the bank is robbed of its last drop of liquid gold (more water), Rango starts to wonder what's going on and who is behind it. He has an idea.
A posse goes out to find the bank robbers and run straight into trouble. The robbers are a motley crew of moles, perhaps a possum and several other grimy varmints -- and they all have huge families.
A fight, and a chase featuring varmints flying on bats playing a hillbilly version of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" ensues. It's a strange combination of "Apocalypse Now" and the X-Wing Fighter's run on the Death Star, and it has nothing to do with this movie.
That, and a drawn-out lesson that "He who controls water controls the town" makes the middle third of this movie almost -- yes, almost -- boring. The children in the audience totally lost interest in the screening, and the adults could see where the film was headed.
The best, and another useless scene -- has Rango run out of town by Rattlesnake Jake (voice of Bill Nighy) -- and bravely crossing the highway where he does find the "Spirit of the West." The "Spirit" (voice of Timothy Oyphant) is a strangely animated cross of Clint Eastwood as the "Man With No Name" and "House's" Hugh Laurie, and he advises the emotionally lost lizard to return to Dirt, because you can't leave your own story.
Before he returns, Rango discovers where the water has gone and uses his discovery to plan for his return to Dirt.
Rango's arrival back in Dirt brings a tip of the hat to "High Noon" and a long delayed payoff for the few children who managed to keep track of the convoluted plot.
Depp's Rango is a homely little lizard, but his winning personality makes him popular in his new home. Bean is funny and her quiet crush on Rango is as sweet as the town's acceptance of everyone's quirks.
If your younger children must see "Rango," take them to a matinée. It's a good bet for a date night movie for older teens who have seen a lot of movies or adults who will get a kick out of counting how many movies were used to put this show together, including Depp's brief hello to Captain Jack Sparrow.
There are plenty of places for adults to laugh with the kids, but so many more that only they will enjoy. It's something to consider when thinking of seeing this movie.
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