Inside Out sees Pixar’s return to animated films which try to reach for your heart to find that special place between what the childhood past of you would have found funny and the adult version will find the beauty of life in through a form of catharsis. In a way it does a bit of this, but largely misses out on a lot for younger audiences whose parents were looking forward to watching this film with based on its marketing.
Inside Out is all about a little girl named Riley as she progresses through life from childhood to adulthood. In a way the story’s writer Pete Docter has created two pseudo-movies in that you have to see Riley’s evolution to her emotions, and how the emotions in turn change throughout the course of what happens to her when she moves to San Francisco very young. The dynamic of the movie, which I found personally worthwhile was that we do not just see Riley’s emotions but those of her parents as well. Essentially you get to see this interesting dynamic that borders on action sequences similar to the older Osmosis Jones film / Ozzy & Drix TV show and takes a page right from them when it comes to brain operations. Instead of neurons and electrical sparks, you see life in the brain with these emotions even though I personally would have preferred they operate from inside of the heart to be more symbolic. Anger (Lewis Black), Sadness (Phyllis Smith of The Office fame), Fear (Bill Hader), Joy (Amy Poehler), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) are all the stars of this film as the central emotions of Riley and their voice acting is usually on point and believable throughout. While there are great action sequences throughout the film, a bulk of the movie seems to border on sequences that are predictable and lack a certain level of originality which is surprising for a Pixar film. They are usually more original when it comes to their story construction.
Back in 1993, when Steven Spielberg's cult hit Jurassic Park came out, the world was a simpler place. We had only met dinosaurs only in dusty books or charmless labs till then. And then they were there on screen in their CGI-meets-practical effects glory and our cinema-going experience changed forever.
Nothing, we repeat, nothing can outdo that first introduction to dinos, resplendent as it was in its Spielbergian wizardry. However, it is to the credit of the bigger and louder dinsoaurs, the film's director Colin Trevorrow and the cast of Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and Irrfan Khan that while watching you compare it to the first Jurassic Park, and not its less-than-watchable sequels.
We meet the park's uptight manager Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and billionaire owner Sam (Irrfan Khan) early on. Irrfan's character is a true heir of John Hammond (Park's original owner played by Richard Attenborough). He understands that his dinos need to entertain the masses, knows that they need to push science to come up with the latest attractions. Does Sam care about the brought-back-from-dead species? He says so, but somehow it is hard to believe him.
Claire, she is the number cruncher. She knows people want bigger, better dinosaurs with more teeth and she is ready to give them to the paying public. The result of DNA tinkering in the lab (we are never clearly told whose) is the albino dino Indominus Rex who has the built of a T Rex and intelligence of a highly skilled killer.
She (yes, it is a she) tries escaping from her fortress of a padlock and Claire is sent running to park's raptor trainer-resident badass Owen (Chris Pratt). To make things more edge-of-the-seat, Claire's nephews Gray and Zack (Ty Simpson and Nick Robinson) are visiting the park and Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) wants to weaponise the dinos and use them in situations such as Tora Bora.
The rest is predictable to any fan of the franchise - killer dino on the loose, people being chomped and other people (read principal cast) managing to evade the dino's jaws (so much teeth!) by their inherent bravery and intelligence.
What really works is the film's meta commentary on how to manage the audience's demand. Like the people we see in the film, we want so much more than just dinosaurs from the franchise. Jurassic World has turned into little more than a petting zoo where people would rather focus on their smartphones than watch a Mosasaurus devour its prey. "Nobody is excited to see a dinosaur anymore," Claire says as an introduction to a focus group. When asked what investors of Jurassic World want, the answer is, "We want to be thrilled."
Ditto that for the audience. The film is a scathing commentary on how corporate moneybags are running the game and it is especially scornful in a scene where toddlers are seen riding baby dinosaurs or when that most majestic of beasts, T Rex, is reduced to a performing monkey. The underlying message of this self referencing film is: We are going to give you some CGI-filled mayhem which will be akin to Transformers-meets-Sharknado. Just don't blame us when shit hits the fan.
But here's the problem: The CGI falls eons short of Jurassic Park's realistic feel. It looks fake in places and forced in others. How we miss those practical effects of Spielberg which made the first film terrifyingly real.
Trevorrow makes a confident debut in the arena of blockbuster arena. He seems to be channeling Spielberg who is the executive producer of this one. The build up before the violence is unleashed, the device of using a pair of kids of an about-to-be-divorced couple and even a visit to the vine-encrusted original park is all Spielbergian and yet has Trevorrow's stamp. The director knows that the audience's is in for an action-filled ride, scarier and bigger than last time, and gives it to them.
The cast delivers. Our desi export, Irrfan, is as good as always and beautifully enacts the philosopher-entertainer. Chris Pratt delivers again after Guardians of the Galaxy as the goofball-great guy. It is his lack of chemistry with Howard which is the only jarring point. The kids are supposed to look cute and terrified, and they do.
Now, to the billion dollar question: Is the film as good as Jurassic Park? No, it is not but it is a worthy successor.
Internally struggling with the question of who you truly are, and how your identity influences your most important relationships, can be a dauntingly emotional process for everyone, no matter what point you’re at in life. So mixing comedy with the existential question of who we are as people, and humanity’s inherent need to immediately define others mainly based on their personality, can be an even more harrowing process. But director-writer-producer-actor Seth MacFarlane effortlessly intertwined humor and emotional sentiments into his title character’s drive to end identity stereotypes with the help of his new wife, who’s played by Jessica Barth. in the anticipated comedy sequel ‘Ted 2,’ which is set to be released on Friday in theaters nationwide.
‘Ted 2′ follows the title character as he marries the love of his life, Tami-Lynn (Barth) and the two set out to happily build their lives together in Boston. But the contentment is short-lived, as the two have become bitter towards each only a year into their marriage, and they agree that the only way to improve their connection is to have a baby. Despite the rejuvenated satisfaction between the spouses, Ted becomes distressed again when he realizes that his best friend, John (Mark Wahlberg), is still pining for his ex-wife, Lori, even though they got divorced a year-and-a-half prior.
Ted and Tami-Lynn’s rekindled happiness is further crushed when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts declares Ted isn’t actually a person. Since he’s been identified by property by the government, he’s therefore ineligible to adopt a child with his wife. His grief is further extended when he’s fired from his job at the local grocery store, and is informed that his marriage has been annulled, as a result of being declared property.
Angry at the recent unexpected turn of events in his life, Ted asks John to help him sue the state for his civil rights. So they hire a young new lawyer, Samantha L. Jackson (Amanda Seyfried), to serve as their counsel in court. But they lose the case, as Ted’s biggest fan, Donny (Giovanni Ribisi), enlisted the help of his employer, Tom Jessup (John Carroll Lynch), the CEO of the toy company that created the bear, to deny him his rights. While Donny thinks it would be easier to steal Ted if he’s considered property as he begins to plan his abduction strategy, the title character, his best friend and his lawyer are still determined to protect the bear. So the three travel to New York to persuade legendary civil rights attorney Patrick Meighan (Morgan Freeman) to take on their appeal. The group hopes that if they win, they can finally prove that Ted isn’t a teddy bear, but actually a person who deserves the same freedoms as his fellow Americans.
