MOVIE REVIEW: TROLLS (2016)

From IMDB:

Storyline

From the creators of Shrek comes the most smart, funny, irreverent animated comedy of the year, DreamWorks' Trolls. This holiday season, enter a colorful, wondrous world populated by hilariously unforgettable characters and discover the story of the overly optimistic Trolls, with a constant song on their lips, and the comically pessimistic Bergens, who are only happy when they have trolls in their stomach. Featuring original music from Justin Timberlake, and soon-to-be classic mash-ups of songs from other popular artists, the film stars the voice talents of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Russell Brand, James Corden, Kunal Nayyar, Ron Funches, Icona Pop, Gwen Stefani, and many more. DreamWorks' TROLLS is a fresh, broad comedy filled with music, heart and hair-raising adventures. In November of 2016, nothing can prepare you for our new Troll world.

48 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 11 user | 41 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

MOVIE INFO

DreamWorks Animation's TROLLS is an irreverent comedy extravaganza with incredible music! From the genius creators of SHREK, TROLLS stars Anna Kendrick as Poppy, the optimistic leader of the Trolls, and her polar opposite, Branch, played by Justin Timberlake. Together, this unlikely pair of Trolls must embark on an adventure that takes them far beyond the only world they've ever known.

Rating: PG (for some mild rude humor)

Genre: Animation , Kids & Family

Directed By: Mike Mitchell , Walt Dohrn

Written By: Jonathan Aibel , Glenn Berger

In Theaters: Nov 3, 2016 Wide

Runtime: 100 minutes

Studio: DreamWorks Animation

TOMATOMETER 88%

Average Rating: 6.5/10

Reviews Counted: 32

Fresh: 28

Rotten: 4

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

WANT TO SEE 90% want to see

User Ratings: 17,884

TROLLS OPENS IN THE U.S. ON THE 4th OF NOVEMBER AND IN MALAYSIA ON THE 3rd OF NOVEMBER. CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT WHEN IT OPENS NEAR YOU. 

This is Princess Poppy. Her hobbies include singing, dancing, hugging and scrapbooking. ©20th Century Fox

From a toy born in the 60's to a film about trolls who are eaten because they are believed to make you feel happy... 

So Trolls, born from the mind of a Danish man named Thomas Dam who in 1959 because he couldn't afford to buy a christmas gift for his daughter decided to carve her a little doll. I guess he was a little different even for then because the doll turned out to be a troll. When his daughter's friends in the Danish town of Gjøl saw the little troll all of them wanted it. Soon Mr Dam started a company called Dam Things and the little trolls became a fad all over the world. In the 50 odd years of the little trolls existence they've been plagiarized, copyrighted, turned into action figures, made into fashion dolls, they were made into TV shows, videogames and now even a film. It would be quite surprising if anyone were to say that they've never seen them before.

That grey dude there is Branch. His hobbies include telling the other trolls that Bergens are coming and preparing for their eventual coming. ©20th Century Fox

Let's do a quick background about this little movie. A little over six years ago DreamWorks Animation announced plans to create a film based on the toys, two years later they then announced that Chloë Grace Moretz and Jason Schwartzman  would be voicing the main characters but no mention about it being a musical. A year later they acquired the intellectual property for the Trolls franchise from Mr Thomas Dam's family and Dam Things. After that there was a few changes to who would direct, who would write, what it was going to be about and when it would actually show up on the big screen. In May of 2013 they finally confirmed that it would be a musical comedy but at the time Anna Kendrick was the only one confirmed to be part of the project as the cast. Then in January 2016, on twitter, the full cast was revealed. I had no idea this film even existed until about a month ago or so. I think.

The trolls have a hugging schedule. They hug every hour. Branch isn't a fan of hugs. ©20th Century Fox

Trolls is about a village of trolls who twenty years before escaped from their captive existence in the town of Bergen. Bergen is filled of course with Bergens who are generally an unhappy bunch until one day they discover the trolls who are ultra colorful little creatures who do nothing everyday but sing and dance and be happy. For whatever reason the first Bergens to encounter these happy little creatures believed that for them to be happy just like the trolls they'd have to eat the trolls. So it is that the tradition of Trollstice is born where once a year the Bergens go down to the tree that the trolls live in and pick a few to give to few lucky Bergens to eat. For the purposes of our viewing pleasure this Trollstice will be the first time Prince Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) will be tasting a little bit of happiness. 

Branch would rather spend his time in his secret hideout. ©20th Century Fox

But unfortunately for him twenty years before all the trolls fled under the direction of King Peppy (Jeffrey Tambor) and all that's left are wooden troll dolls. Like what Mr Dam made for her daughter. This makes King Gristle (John Cleese) mad and so he banishes the person who was supposed to be in charge of Trollstice, Chef (Christine Baranski) from Bergen forever. Chef of course is unhappy about this development and swears to find the trolls.

And sit around with his mousetraps. ©20th Century Fox

Meanwhile, since it's been twenty years King Peppy isn't so peppy anymore and his daughter Poppy (Anna Kendrick) is next in line to take over. But she's got other things on her mind at the moment, like celebrating the twentieth anniversary of living a Bergen-free existence so she and her friends Biggie (James Corden), Guy Diamond (Kunal Nayyar), DJ Suki (Gwen Stefani), Creek (Russell Brand), Cooper (Ron Funches) and Satin and Chenille (Caroline Hjelt & Aino Jawo) busy themselves with the preparations while Branch (Justin Timberlake) reminds them that all they'll be doing is attracting Bergens to their party.

That big creature is called Chef. She only knows how to cook Trolls. She's not much of a chef. ©20th Century Fox

Of course Poppy doesn't listen to Branch's tale of doom and gloom brought about by Bergens and of course Chef finds them and captures all of Poppy's friends. This of course means that Poppy needs to rescue them and that Branch needs to be the reluctant hero. When they get to Bergen they find some unlikely help in the form of Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), Bergen Castle's only scullery maid who is also hopelessly in love with Prince Gristle.

That cloud guy seems like he would be fun to watch, right? Well, he was for the few minutes that he shows up. ©20th Century Fox

A few things I like. 

• What I saw on the screen. Beautifully colourful and vibrant. Loved how things were textured to look like everything was made out of felt and wool. A really cool look.
• The story was fine. Nothing original but what can you expect from a movie directed mainly at kids. 
• The music wasn't too bad. Mostly snippets but nicely done. If you enjoyed Anna Kendrick's voice in the Pitch Perfect movies then you'll enjoy her voice here too. 
• The main cast were of course good. Wasn't too impressed with Timberlake but no complaints about the others who were of course seasoned actors and voice actors. 

The one with the colourful hair is Bridget, she's secretly in love with Prince Gristle. That's not her hair. ©20th Century Fox

Trolls is a fun little movie for the kids. There's a few laughs and silly gags and puns but they don't make you laugh boisterously or frequently. It's ultra colourful and cutesy that will for sure keep the kids attention focused on the screen for a while at least. The music is fun but it isn't particularly catchy so the kids won't be singing any of the songs for months after watching it. And at the end the kids will get a nice little message about how they can find happiness and joy without having to eat anything small and colourful. Especially when they're being forced on you by an old and ugly woman. 

This movie is like a 90 minute long PSA against substance abuse but there's no way anyone could have come up with what you see here without it, right? ©20th Century Fox

All in all Trolls is a fun little distraction that will only take about 90 minutes of your life. Definitely one for the kids and for parents who could use 90 minutes where their kids aren't driving them crazy. I'm going to give Trolls a solid 3 out of 5. 

Check out the latest trailer for Trolls below.

A GREAT BIG THANKS TO BFM RADIO AND 20th CENTURY FOX MALAYSIA FOR THE PREVIEW PASSES!! 

MOVIE REVIEW: THE ACCOUNTANT (2016)

From IMDB:

Storyline

Christian Wolff is a math savante with more affinity for numbers than people. Behind the cover of a small-town CPA office, he works as a freelance accountant for some of the world's most dangerous criminal organizations. With the Treasury Department's Crime Enforcement Division, run by Ray King, starting to close in, Christian takes on a legitimate client: a state-of-the-art robotics company where an accounting clerk has discovered a discrepancy involving millions of dollars. But as Christian uncooks the books and gets closer to the truth, it is the body count that starts to rise.

51 Metascore From metacritic.com

Reviews 27 user | 98 critic

From Rotten Tomatoes:

MOVIE INFO

Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is a math savant with more affinity for numbers than people. Behind the cover of a small-town CPA office, he works as a freelance accountant for some of the world's most dangerous criminal organizations. With the Treasury Department's Crime Enforcement Division, run by Ray King (J.K. Simmons), starting to close in, Christian takes on a legitimate client: a state-of-the-art robotics company where an accounting clerk (Anna Kendrick) has discovered a discrepancy involving millions of dollars. But as Christian uncooks the books and gets closer to the truth, it is the body count that starts to rise.

Rating: R (for strong violence and language throughout)

Genre: Drama

Directed By: Gavin O'Connor

Written By: Bill Dubuque

In Theaters: Oct 14, 2016 Wide

Runtime: 128 minutes

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

TOMATOMETER 50%

Average Rating: 5.7/10

Reviews Counted: 139

Fresh: 70

Rotten: 69

Critics Consensus: The Accountant writes off a committed performance from Ben Affleck, leaving viewers with a scattershot action thriller beset by an array of ill-advised deductions.

AUDIENCE SCORE 87% liked it

Average Rating: 4.2/5

User Ratings: 18,590

THE ACCOUNTANT IS CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THE U.S. AND OPENS IN MALAYSIA ON THE 20th OF OCTOBER. TO FIND OUT WHEN IT OPENS IN A CINEMA NEAR YOU CLICK HERE.

Meet Chris. He's an accountant and he'll help you pay less on your taxes. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

Ben Affleck plays a superhero-like character with it's own Oracle-like character but isn't Batman. Anna Kendrick accidentally meets and has a crush on a man that turns out to be a killer again...

So, Ben Affleck plays the role of Christian "Chris" Wolff who as a child was identified with a form of autism. His father (Robert C. Treveiler) is a military man and doesn't think that sending his child to a psychiatrist/psychologist or a camp for special children like Chris is a good idea in order to understand his child and give him the best possible chance at a somewhat normal future. He has his own idea. His mother (Mary Kraft) after a while gives up on Chris and abandons her family. Growing up his father uses several methods to 'train' Chris to be stronger, to overcome his condition. His brother too undergoes the training. 

That man there wants to know who Chris is, so he gets someone else to do it. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

Fast forward to the future and we meet Ray King (J.K. Simmons) the director of financial crimes at the Treasury Department, he calls in to his office Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and gives her a task, to find a man that the department has been looking for for years, a man they called The Accountant. King tells Medina to find him or he'll have her past ruin her future at the department. 

Chris studied how to be an accountant in prison from this man who used to be an accountant for the mafia. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

Chris introduction to the world of bookkeeping for special clients was due to one person, Francis Silverberg (Jeffrey Tambor) a convicted bookkeeper himself. The two meet by 'chance' in a low security prison that Francis was in and the two immediately bonded. They were inseparable. Francis tutoring him in the ways of a good bookkeeper and more day in and day out, making sure that Chris wouldn't forget a thing. 

This man is also interested in Chris. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

Fast forward to the future again and Chris now has his own accounting firm in a small town where he helps the local townsfolk with the their tax returns in the most creative way that benefits them. As he speaks to his clients his eyes never leave his computer monitor, he goes through one remote video camera feed after another. On his drive back home from work he discusses his clients with Justine (Alison Wright) who also suggests that he take on more conventional clients and gives him the name of a company, Living Robotics. Meanwhile in Europe a man (Jon Bernthal) slips into the car of businessman and threatens him.

This man next to Chris seems nice, right? ©Warner Bros. Pictures

When Chris visits Living Robotics he meets with Rita Blackburn (Jean Smart) and Ed Chilton (Andy Umberger) who represent Lamar Black (John Lithgow) one of the founders of Living Robotic. They want Chris to find the source of their financial problems. To help Chris with his task is Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick).

This is Dana. She thinks she meets a quirky and cute guy but of course there's more. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

So a few things I like.

• I like the story and how each character is introduced and who and what they are. It isn't done in huge chunks of exposition or in a way that is obvious and direct. You get to make your own conclusions about each character. 
• I like the flow of the story. Well paced, interspersed with humour at just the right moment to lighten the overall feel of the movie. 
• Ben Affleck does a pretty good job. Enjoyed him here. Ditto J.K. Simmons. Everyone else was good too but they're there to keep the story moving. The story is about Chris. 
• The visuals are nothing special as is the fight scenes but they work. 
• The surprise you get at the big fight at the end. 

And now she's got people following her around. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

A few things that I didn't.

• There are glaring gaps in the story but bad as they are you it really doesn't affect the story much. In fact the gaps could be addressed in a later movie if there is one. 
• As much as I enjoyed the other actors in the film you don't really feel their presence at all and I think that's unfortunate. 
• Not too sure what this movie is really about or if it has a single overarching moral/goal/theme. For example, Avengers: Age of Ultron, you get what the movie's about and the end of it is of course Ultron being defeated. The Accountant, not so much. Chris has his own moral code and the other thing is is that he needs to finish what he started, and that's it. Is this a revenge story? Nope. Is it a story about a child with autism overcoming his disabilities to become an assassin? That's a weird takeaway. An accountant who is also an adept killer with an unusual moral code? Don't think so.

But don't worry, Chris is stalking her too. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

All in all I really found this movie to be a fun watch. At the end of it I was thinking of a headline to a review of this movie, it said something to the effect that this movie is something like a superhero movie. I totally agree with it. This movie has the elements of a good superhero movie but it doesn't play out in the same way as a Marvel movie. In this one you are given tidbits of the superhero's origin story throughout the film while the main story unravels. And that's pretty refreshing. 

She does some pretty amazing deductions based on very little. She's like Sherlock Holmes. ©Warner Bros. Pictures

The thing about this movie is that it sorts of takes from many superhero movies and comics and sticks them in a single movie about an unlikely sort of hero with an unusual moral code which is never revealed to us. The only thing he doesn't have is the superhero outfit, everything else it there. The unusual upbringing, the unfortunate family situation, the training, the apprenticeship. They elements are there although a little unusual. 

How many CPA do you know do this on the side? ©Warner Bros. Pictures

Like I said I like this movie and hopefully there will be a sequel to fill in the gaping holes left in this one. I'm giving The Accountant a solid 3.9 out of 5. Go watch it. And tell me you don't sort of wish that Ben Affleck's upcoming Batman movie will be just as good if not better and not be like the other DC movies of late. 

Check out the trailer below. 

A BIG THANK YOU GOES TO GSC CINEMAS FOR THE PREVIEW PASSES!!