HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2

DreamWorks Animation

Rated PG

Running time: 102 Minutes

Click below to watch a movie trailer of How to Train Your Dragons 2.



In Dreamworks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon 2, Hiccup/Jay Baruchel and his dragon Toothless map the unexplored lands and territories, when they come across an insane dragon conqueror called Drago Bludvist/Djimon Hounsou - as well as someone from Hiccup's/Baruchel's past.

This is the second movie in the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy Executive Produced, Written, and Directed by Dean DeBlois, and based on the How to Train Your Dragon book series by Cressida Cowell.

This is one of those rare movies that I think is actually better than the original movie. The story is bigger and more open than in the first movie as Hiccup/Baruchel explore the area surrounding the island of Berk from which he is from. The characters from the first movie have returned. Hiccup's/Baruchel's father Gerard Butler, as well as characters Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, and the friends have grown in the reported five years since the events of the first movie and are young adults now. Hiccup/Baruchel grows even more as the movie develops, especially when he meets Valka/Cate Blanchett. Hiccup/Baruchel's scenes when flying with Toothless were awe inspiring to watch. It helps that there was the Dreamworks Dragons TV show that aired in-between the release dates of the two movies which had showed how the dragons were being integrated into the Viking island of Berk, including running dragon games. After watching the TV show, it is not such a culture shock when watching How to Train Your Dragon 2 from the story of the original How to Train Your Dragon. The animation of How to Train Your Dragon 2 is quite involved too as the movie depicts the various new dragons and massive battle scenes, which reminded me of World War II battle scenes.

I think of all the movies that I had watched over the Fourth of July weekend, How to Train Your Dragon 2 was the best movie for me story and entertainment-wise. This movie was a lot of fun. I loved at how family motivated the movie is with Hiccup/Baruchel and how emotional the movie was for me as a result. Even Toothless seemed to become part of a family when they discover the new world of dragons. I will admit that I had cried when I watched this movie, as the movie was that powerful toward the end.

One thing that did bother me - and it should not bother me as this is an animated movie, so they were not hurt - was of how the sheep were used in this movie. I kept thinking of The American Humane Association. This is an animated movie, and how the sheep were used were funny and reminded me of the Wallace and Gromit movies - but how the sheep were used would have been disturbing in a live action movie and I had to keep reminding myself that this is an animated movie and thus not real.

The final movie in the trilogy, currently titled How to Train Your Dragon 3, is scheduled for release on June 17, 2016.

Click below to watch another movie trailer of How to Train Your Dragon 2.



Click below to watch the featurette movie trailer of How to Train Your Dragon 2.



Rated PG for violence. Running time: 102 Minutes.

Pancho 
All people smile in the same language.

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Monuments Men

Columbia Pictures

Rated PG-13

Running time: 118 Minutes










Click below to watch the Monuments Men trailer.



In Columbia Pictures Monuments Men, a World War II allied squad is put together by George Clooney to rescue national art treasures captured by the Nazis.

Written, Directed, and Produced, as well as starring George Clooney, and based on the book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter, Monuments Men is based on the true story of a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, and art historians Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, along with others such as Dimitri Leonidas and Parisian curator Cate Blanchett to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of Western civilization culture from the Nazis.

This film is more of a sentimental drama instead of your typical war movie. As a result, while there are consequences of war, it is not as graphic as your typical war movie. There are very few battles depicted and had more of a suspense feeling than actual action in the film. Having a group of out of shape, middle-aged art historians that Clooney put together as a military unit generated most of the laughs of the movie. While I had heard of Hitler confiscating art treasures all over Europe for his own use, such as his proposed Fuhrermuseum - I had no idea there was a task force created and tasked by FDR to rescue these works of art before I heard of this movie. Of course, there was a resistance for Clooney's squad by the allies as being unimportant compared to the lives of the soldiers fighting for their lives. For me, what made the movie is of Clooney's speech that art is the exact reason that we are fighting - for our culture and our way of life. As well as Damon's question of a collection of pictures and what they are and Blanchett's answer that they are of people's lives.

While there might be comparisons to to the movie Kelly's Heroes, which was also based on a true story, Monuments Men dealt more with art than with gold bullion.

This is an incredible cast, and I was glad to see that Clooney got Bob Balaban cast in this movie. I have been a fan of Balaban's since Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It is too bad that Balaban did not have a larger role, as I thought his character was perfect for Balaban. Having George Clooney's father, Nick Clooney in a cameo was a nice touch.

I have to concentrate that the movie is called Monuments (plural) Men. We saw Monuments Men at a more upscale theater because the theater was central to all of us. Before the showing, the usher described the movie to the audience. He joked that the movie starred just about every working movie actor working in Hollywood at the time. As it was, the movie had an incredible cast starring in it. Just before we went in to watch the show, I saw some friends of mine coming out of the theater. "What are you seeing?" "Monuments Men." "Great movie!" We all agreed after the movie was over, that Monuments Men was a great movie.

Rated PG-13 for violence and language. Running time: 118 minutes.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

Pancho's Movie Reviews