Boss Baby 2 Family Business 3D Movie Review

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Boss Baby 2 Family Business

3D Movie Review


Written By: Jacob Scarberry

boss-baby-2-family-business.jpeg

3D

After being slightly disappointed with  the 3D in Raya & the Last Dragon, (The last 3D animated movie that I saw in theaters) there needed to be some redemption to fill the void of 3D animated bliss. DreamWorks Animation has released some spectacular 3D Blu-Rays (The Croods 2, Turbo, etc.). Would their excellent home experience with 3D Blu-ray’s translate to a wonderful theatrical experience? What better way to dip my toes and see my first DreamWorks 3D movie in the theater than with The Boss Baby 2 Family Business?

Simply put DreamWorks has delivered with this movie and the 3D in Boss Baby 2 is spectacular. From the cute studio logo, to the end credits, it's a mesmerizing feast for the eyes. Not only is the picture colorful and detailed, there is some terrific depth at hand, along with plenty of pop-out moments, and even stuff entering the audience (or coming from the audience going toward the screen) in several scenes. One scene in particular was breathtaking in 3D. This is the infiltration scene at the Acorn School when the Boss Baby is attacked by ninjas. This scene is literally filled with arrows and ninja stars popping out of the screen for one amazing 3D spectacle. 


This is one of the best 3D films that I have ever seen in a theater and it should not be missed. Boss Baby fans will definitely want to watch this sequel in theaters and in 3D. Fingers crossed for a Blu-Ray 3D!

Final Verdict: Great 3D Editors Choice Award

Movie

For many years, The Boss Baby (first movie) was the butt of many jokes for me and many others on the internet. The trailers and TV spots made the original movie look atrocious, cheap, crass and lazy. This is one 3-D movie that I bought only just a few months ago, to fill the gaps of my ever-growing 3D blu-ray library (240 and counting!), and to try and complete the DreamWorks 3D section. I didn't even bother to watch the first film in 3D at home, but I mustered through the screening in 2D and found myself shocked. The original film was actually pretty decent, which befuddled me.


Yes, there was plenty of gross out gags, fart jokes, and baby butts aplenty, but there was also some surprising cleverness to the animation and storytelling and some funny jokes as well. It was solid entertainment, slightly weird of course, but I didn't hate it (as I expected to). So getting ready to watch the sequel Boss Baby Family Business, I was kinda positive going into the "local" (Local meaning a 30 mile trip) Regal Cinemas and watching this second movie on the big screen. FYI Watching the first film is not required viewing to enjoy or understand this second film. I also did not watch any of the Netflix Boss Baby TV series (or interactive movie) before watching this second theatrical movie. 

Boss Baby 2 Family Business is set a year after the end of the original Boss Baby movie. Tim (Now played by James Marsden, after Tobey Maguire voiced the adult Tim in the first film) is a stay-at-home dad, with a beautiful wife and two kids. His brother, Ted (Alec Baldwin) is the successful business man who is always too busy with work to spend time with family. When the Christmas holidays come around, Tim is feeling depressed, with his oldest daughter Tabitha starting to grow apart from her dad and Ted never attending family functions.

While reminiscing his childhood, Tim hears familiar phone ringing, and discovers that his youngest daughter, Tina (Amy Sedaris), has carried on in the family tradition of working for BabyCo. Tina tricks her uncle Ted to come to the house and the team works together to take on the nefarious Dr. Armstrong (Jeff Goldblum). Dr Armstrong is the owner and operator of the Acorn Schools. He has created a new special baby formula that is designed to make the adults into babies. Tim, Ted and Tabitha all must stop Armstrong from ridding the world of parents. 


The first film was a cute movie that told the trials and tribulations of childhood, that left it up to the viewer to decide if the events actually happened. This movie pretty much takes away that mystery and confirms that everything is real. Overall it offers a fun wild ride.

The animation is awesome and colorful, and the voice performances are a delight, and there are some nice laughs, but I am having a slight case of sequel-itis. This movie doesn’t seem better or worse than the original just more of the same. The plot is pretty ridiculous, as is the belief that everyone who comes in contact with the younger Tim, doesn't recognize that his voice sounds like an adult. Marsden doesn't even try to make it sound like a kid, and  DreamWorks did bother to hire a kid actor to make it sound believable. Overall the plot is just outright stupid. The movie also has a side story involving school troubles with the oldest daughter. She is super smart, but also not liked, and must overcome an obstacle at a school play. The typical brother sister dynamic is fairly worn and tired.

Despite the many flaws the film still works. Thankfully they reduced the gross out gags in favor of some clever jokes. Yes this movie is still filled to the brim with juvenile humor for the tots. The movie even has a creepy girl who loves horses and has the talent to appear and disappear at her leisure. I wouldn’t say this was an Oscar worthy film or “Pixar level quality”, but it's no slouch when it comes to providing entertainment to families at the local cineplex, or from the home via Peacock.

Boss Baby 2 Family Business is a stupid, but entertaining movie that won't stick with you. The 3D will stick with you but the movie itself is a fairly forgettable family affair. 

Final Verdict: 6/10

Update: 1 We did a podcast for this Boss Baby 2 review

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Raya and the Last Dragon 3D Movie Review

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Raya and the Last Dragon 3D Movie Review

Written By: Jacob Scarberry

3D


I had high hopes for the 3D aspect of Raya and The Last Dragon, sadly the 3D seems like your standard Pixar 3D animated film ( A Nice Afterthought ). Based on the excellent Disney + 4K 2D stream of this movie and the abundance of vibrant colors popping off the screen I expected more from the 3D aspect of this movie.

Starting with the positive aspects of the 3D, everything just seemed natural. The 3D has natural spacing between the layers of fore, middle and background elements. Overall the 3D details were amazingly abundant and the depth was just outstanding. The settings were beautifully designed and fully enveloped to the point of it looking like the real deal, instead of a computer creation. The water effects are bar none the best that I have ever seen. The 3D greatly increased how real various objects felt on screen. Overall the 3D depth is rather spectacular.

Depth wide the 3D works well, however, nothing really popped out of the screen towards the audience. Beyond a slight jutting out of the sword, some water / rain  splashes , nothing really broke out of the screen, despite the massive opportunities throughout this movie. We do have a few examples of pop out 3D: The water droplets from Sisu (The Last Dragon), the several fights between the characters, and some random shrimp being thrown at Raya. I wanted more pop out 3D for this movie. 

All in all the 3D highlights are few and far between. The various rain scenes where the camera is panning up or down look very nice in 3D. Another noteworthy scene is where, one character aims the crossbow at Raya and a bit of it pops out of the screen. Finally the cave scene with the exploding beetles looks especially nice in 3D.  

The 3D aspect of Raya and the Last Dragon is a very solid effort from Disney, but it simply left me wanting more. 

Final Verdict: Good 3D

Art by Ppeppermind

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Movie

I traveled nearly fifty miles in the hills of West Virginia to watch this movie in 3D. This was during the covid-19 pandemic. My epic long journey to watch this movie in 3D took me through winding roads, up and down the various mountains, into a few valleys and I even crossed a few rivers. All this to watch a movie that I already seen at home but now in 3D in a theatre. Call me crazy if you must, but I just had to do it, partially because no closer theater had it available in 3D, but mostly because I am so dedicated to 3D . These are desperate times and I rose to the occasion, for Raya and the Last Dragon.

Raya and the Last Dragon is a Disney animated movie that takes place in a fictional asian land, that has been splintered into five nations: Talon, Spine, Tail, Fang and Heart. After a series of errors and mistrust, Raya must reawaken Sisu the titular last dragon. Sisu is the only hope to try to reunite this divided world. Sisu is able to do many amazing feats, but it can’t help me love this movie. Asian lore is abundant in this movie. All the usual Disney tropes are also present in this movie. This movie has a young princess, cute animals, and some surprising racial stereotypes. It’s all very familiar and it’s told with a lack of grace and talent. The film just keeps hitting you over the head with obvious metaphors and awkward modern humor. This style of humor makes no sense at all in this story. Raya and the Last dragon fumbles the narrative ball. 

Raya and the Last Dragon’s vocal cast is largely decent. Kelly Marie Tran is better here as Raya than she was as Rose in the Star Wars sequels.  Gemma Chan, Daniel Dae, Sandra Oh and Benedict Wong are all delivering fine work. The one noteworthy exception is Awkwafina who is woefully miscast as Sisu. I like Awkwafina, she's funny and can act, but this character and her portrayal are jarring and downright grating at times. I feel bad for poor Alan Tudyk who was Tuk Tuk (a pillbug/armadillo-like creature that Raya rides on). Alan Tudyk is sorely underused to the point of not being needed to voice the basic grunts of this creature. What a waste! 

Luckily, the movie looks and sounds amazing. This movie showcases many beautiful locations and it has top notch animation. The sets, character designs, particle / hair effects, and water effects are all amazing throughout. I cannot deny how pretty this movie is. The sound design and musical compositions are also very well done. The score by James Newton Howard is excellent and it really captures the asian vibe. The sound and visuals match each other perfectly. The movie has no musical numbers and that is fine by me. 


Raya and the Last Dragon is a good but not a great movie. This film has a basic storyline with underdeveloped ideas, forced humor, and a miscast co-lead (Awkwafina). The 3D is nice and it satisfied me enough to make rewatching this movie worthwhile. This is a beautifully animated movie that sadly doesn’t live up to its potential.

Final Verdict: 7/10

Official Website :

 https://movies.disney.com/raya-and-the-last-dragon

© Disney, All Rights Reserved

Wonder Woman 1984 3D Movie Review

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Wonder Woman 1984 3D Movie Review

Written By: Jacob Scarberry

3D

Throughout my viewing of Wonder Woman 1984 the 3D was wonderful. While being shot on film, you can tell they had 3D in mind when they were making this movie, and it delivers in spades. There is natural depth and spacing between the characters and background/foreground elements. This movie has plenty of particles that enter the theatrical space, and several shots with pop-out effects that manage to fully entertain and engross the viewer. One scene with fireworks is especially beautiful in 3D. In fact the 3D fully lifted my movie watching experience for Wonder Woman 1984. While not a perfect 3D visual experience, overall I really enjoyed the 3D in this movie.  


Final Verdict: Great 3D

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Movie

To put it bluntly, Wonder Woman 1984 isn't as good as Wonder Woman (2017), that being said I still liked this movie. 

Let me start off with the good aspects of this film, which is the cast. Gal Gadot was born to play the role of Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, as she exudes confidence, charisma and class throughout all the scenes that she is in. Chris Pine returns as Steve Trevor, this time, the roles being reversed, with him not knowing (then) modern life. It's a fun performance and the chemistry between him and Gadot retains its spark from the first film quite easily. Pedro Pascal's performance as Maxwell Lord is your typical superhero villain, over-the-top, a bit hammy and plenty of bites taken out of the scenery. What grounds Maxwell Lord to Earth is when he has heart-to-hearts with his son Alistair, it's acted perfectly. Kristen Wiig is an odd casting choice as Barbara Minerva / The Cheetah, having mainly known her for her comedic roles in films and on SNL, but she manages to make a believable foe to Wonder Woman.

The story is where it falters a bit for me, though. The story is pretty simple on the surface, where a financially troubled oil baron ( Max Lord )  has been looking for the wishing stone, to lift his fortunes and control the world and Wonder Woman has to stop him. Unfortunately the film takes it's sweet time and at two and a half hours, you feel every minute of it. The film is languidly told with several scenes running too long or are totally unnecessary. I'm not against long films, but when the pacing is this slow, it really wears on the audience. Patty Jenkins, who returns to direct as well as co-writing, should've known better to scale back several scenes or outright delete them entirely. The opening scene in Themiscyira should've been shortened, maybe a minute or two of length, not the full 15 or so minute scene. The middle portion of this movie drags. The ending itself is too long and the denouements of the villains are entirely in the realm of WTF. There's also an utter lack of action in this film. I thought this was an action movie? There are two action scenes in the opening of the film (the Themiscyira scene and the mall scene) but it's a good hour before we even get to the next action scene. Luckily this final action scene is the highlight of the film. This scene is a fun and well-executed scene, with plenty of pep and excitement, but it's not enough to save the film. Also, despite being set in 1984, besides a few cursory details in the costume and production design, the film could've been set in modern times and worked. The film just didn't do enough to make me think "Okay, this is really 1984".

Overall, this isn't the worst of the worst of the DC extended universe of movies or any comic book film for that matter, but it's a film that has too much circumstance, and not enough pomp. A fairly middling entry, with just enough entertainment to prevent it from being outright boring, but not enough for more than the occasional re-watch. Simply put Wonder Woman 1984 is a disappointing mediocre movie. 

Final Verdict: 6/10

Official Website :

https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/wonder-woman-1984

https://www.wonderwomanfilm.net/

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