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Reviews
Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
'Hotel Transylvania 2' is hilarious
Wildly funny, bursting with energy and capped off with a sweet touch of family love 'Hotel Transylvania 2' brings it home for the audience young and old.
Poor Dracula Adam Sandler – voice is very concerned that his grandson Dennis Asher Blinkoff voice isn't showing any signs of becoming a vampire. His concern deepens when he also sees the possibility that his most beloved daughter Mavis Selena Gomez – voice may leave Hotel Transylvania and move into the world of humans. So Dracula puts Jonathon through a monster boot camp when his daughter and son in law take a trip to the human world to visit the human in laws.
The entire experience turns into a giant explosive and hilarious event of one cataclysmic disaster after another. Capping it all off is the appearance of great granddad and devoted human hater Vlad Mel Brooks – voice. But in the end Dennis finally shows signs that he is indeed half human and half vampire and there is a very happy birthday celebration that brings humans and monsters together at the Hotel Transylvania.
This is a fun movie designed mainly for children but when I watched it I and other adults added significantly to the steady stream of solid laughter. Kudos to Sony Pictures Animation for giving us this somewhat silly but totally enjoyable fantasy film right when our real world seems to be utterly overwhelmed in events and circumstance far more scary that any that might flow form the Hotel Transylvania. Yes, it is a great escape and very much enjoyed. Odds are it won't win an Oscar, but take your kids to see Hotel Transylvania 2 and it will win their hearts and yours as well.
Monkey Kingdom (2015)
Much more than a monkey tale
Monkey Kingdom.
Another magnificent slice of Disney magic has just hit the big screen, this time a Disney Nature production the Monkey Kingdom. The Temple Troop of Sri Lankan monkeys has a social hierarchy that could put Washington DC to shame. At the bottom of that social ladder is the fantastic Maya. One day a handsome young male interloper happens by the Temple Troop. His name is Kumar and he immediately captures the full and complete attention of Maya. They share a mutual affection but Kumar is soon driven from the troop by the ruling alpha male and upper tier ladies. Nevertheless Kumar leaves more than just a memory as several months after his departure Maya gives birth to their son Kip.
The harsh realities of jungle life are beautifully displayed by the Disney film makers and charmingly told with the narration by Tina Fey and the brilliant direction of Mark Linfield and Alastair Fothergill. As time goes on the charmed life of the Temple Troop is deeply disrupted by a competitive group of insurgent monkeys who drive the Temple Troop from their home. Upon fleeing their jungle home the Temple Troop soon finds itself having to deal with an urban jungle in Sri Lanka. They adapt and they survive largely due to the skills of Maya and her solid commitment to her little monkey son Kip.
But they cannot remain forever in the city and soon they head back with the intent to recapture their jungle home. On their way back they are rejoined by Kumar who ultimately emerges as the new alpha male leader of the troop and the loving mate of Maya.
It's all cute and charming, of course, but in truth it is far more powerful than that. I saw in both Kumar and Maya something we can all learn and benefit from. That something is an unstoppable will. Maya was never going to abandon her son. She was also not going to simply accept life as an urban monkey but rather was committed to a successful return to her jungle home. Kumar, while once driven from his beloved Maya was not about to forever leave her. He returned the his Maya and their son Kip and he soon changed from outcast to Troop leader because he was blessed with an unstoppable will. That message alone is well worth the movie. And happily there is so much more.
It has all of the beauty and joy common in Disney nature films, but it also has one of the most powerful of all messages to the world. Never ever quit. Against all odds don't back down.