CHICAGO – Excelsior! Comic book legend Stan Lee’s famous exclamation puts a fine point on the third and final play of Mark Pracht’s FOUR COLOR TRILOGY, “The House of Ideas,” presented by and staged at City Lit Theater in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. For tickets/details, click HOUSE OF IDEAS.
Blu-ray Review: Goofy ‘Hop’ Wants Your Easter Bunny Money
CHICAGO – They don’t make too many Easter movies. There are tons of Christmas movies. Halloween has a genre. Even “Independence Day.” But Easter is under-served. Based on “Hop,” there’s a reason for that. The film isn’t as torturous as I was expecting, but it definitely misses its mark for all but the littlest ones. If you have a toddler looking for something new to watch this Easter, it might get the job done. Everyone else, wait for another holiday.
Blu-ray Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
James Marsden does his game best to keep up with a film in which he’s one of the few human actors. While we’re on the subject, I generally HATE movies with CGI creations and humans (“Alvin and the Chipmunks,” “The Smurfs”) and was, therefore, dreading “Hop.” Marsden has enough fun that it didn’t annoy me as much as I was expecting. Take that as faint praise.
Marsden stars as Fred the Easter Bunny. “Hop” is the story of how he got that title after meeting the rambunctious E.B.(voiced by Russell Brand) and learning that the myth of bunnies and chicks on Easter who bring candy and colored eggs to children is not really a myth, E.B. doesn’t want to take over the family business from dear-old-dad (voiced by Hugh Laurie) but has to intervene when the nefarious chick Carlos (voiced by Hank Azaria) tries to take over. Fred is along for the ride (as are Kaley Cuoco, Gary Cole, and Elizabeth Perkins).
“Hop” is one of those modern kids movies that’s far too reliant on pop culture jokes, stupid dance numbers, and bad physical humor. And it never looks like the CGI creations are actually in the same space as the human ones. These movies are going to age HORRIBLY. Having said that, there are a few decent laughs here and the cast seems to be having a good time. If you’re in a jellybean-induced sugar daze, it might work.
Hop
Photo credit: Universal
Synopsis:
From the makers of Despicable Me comes an all-new comedy about candy, chicks and rock ‘n’ roll!
He was destined to be the Easter Bunny, but all he wanted to do was rock! When teenage E.B.(voiced by Russell Brand) leaves for Hollywood in pursuit of his dream to become a rockstar drummer, he meets Fred (James Marsden), an out-of-work slacker with his own lofty goals. Together the two encounter a series of hilarious mishaps and misadventures and in the end help each other recognize the importance of family. “The laughs don’t stop in this movie treat for all ages!” Pete Hammond, Boxoffice
Special Features:
o All-New Mini Movie
o The World of Hop
o All Access With Cody Simpson
o Emotion In Motion: The Dance Of Ken Daurio
o Russell Brand: Kid Crack Ups
o Carlos On Carlos: The Hop Premiere According To Carlos
o Games
By BRIAN TALLERICO |