Quick Movie Review: The Peanuts Movie (2015)

Growing up on Charles Schulz' Peanuts gang gave me somewhat high expectations for the new movie. Fans of the Peanuts have always loved the relatable characters and the warmth of the themes that resonate throughout each image. So if you're like me, I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

It's been 35 years since the last theatrical Peanuts film, Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back) hit theaters, and the first since Schultz' death back in 2000. But written by Schultz' son and grandson, it's easy to see that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It keeps with the spirit of the original works while bringing a modern animation style. And thankfully, that's about the only contemporary feature that this film has. They do a great job of not modernizing the content too much. It doesn't succumb to fart jokes or modern frivolities. There are no cheap gimmicks to get laughter. It's just a classy adaptation of the classy source material we grew up loving--even featuring echoes of Vince Guaraldi's trademark compositions.

The Peanuts Movie revolves around everyone's favorite underdog, Charlie Brown, and his quest to get the new girl to think of him as more than a klutz. He wants her to see him as cool and popular. All the old characters are present here. There's a subplot that is shown interstitially throughout the film featuring Snoopy imagining that he's flying his plane, trying to rescue his love, Fifi, from the Red Baron.

It's a simple love story, but that's what Peanuts does so well. They provide us with grandeur lessons through straightforward means. In this case Charlie Brown learns about confidence, being true to himself, and perseverance--lessons that can have just as much impact on the adults watching as it does on their children.

What the movie does best is provide so much depth to Charlie Brown's character without straying away from the already established depth that we've known him to have throughout the years. It doesn't try to reinvent the characters for a modern world--it appropriately fits this storyarc into the Peanuts canon without disrupting it. 

The only time the film slows down is when the Snoopy storyline comes to a close and finishes with a somewhat lengthy finale. The subplot is actually a fun addition to the movie, since each segment only lasts about 45 seconds, but the climax of it all runs for about 4 minutes and slightly takes away from the momentum of the film.
However, this is only a minor hiccup in an otherwise fantastic film.

The Peanuts Movie truly has an old soul as far as movies go--especially of the family variety. It proves, once again, the timelessness of Schultz' beloved characters.

Twizard Rating: 95

Quick Movie Review: Lucy

Although impressive on a technical level, and intriguing enough to keep an audience's attention, you will find yourself detached from the title character. Not only that, but you don't get attached to any other character in the whole film. And because the setup was almost nonexistent, the film provides absolutely no background to Lucy.

While some of Morgan Freeman's dialogue is interesting and the subject matter draws you in, the script doesn't come without flaws. There are numerous occasions where the viewer may ask themselves why Lucy is wasting her time driving a car or allowing the enemies to breach the building that she's in. In other words, are there limitations to how close a person must be to control them or what?

Also, Lucy has no real weakness, so it makes it hard to become concerned about her fate. The only weakness presented (falling apart if she didn't take the drug) never becomes a threat and was barely even presented. It would be like if there was a Hulk film where he is battling an evil villain with no super powers, therefore impossible for the villain to defeat the Hulk because the villain is just an ordinary person. There would be nothing at stake.

You can't talk about this movie without comparing it to Limitless. Limitless is a far better film in pretty much every aspect. Lucy has way more of an "out there" feel to it, while you feel as though the events in Limitless could actually happen.

And while the tone is consistent, the philosophical points seem disjunct and only half-realized. And when they are realized, they are presented in a semi-pretentious way. When a film tries to prove a point, it helps when we go on a journey of realization with the main character. But in this case, the main character becomes seemingly all-knowing so the journey isn't just unrelatable, it's exceeds our comprehension. 

Overall, Lucy is very interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat to find out what happens when reaching 100%, but I'm not sure that this will happen again upon me rewatching it as there is no other reward gotten out of it. I'll have to rerate it after that.

Twizard Rating: 71