Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned

This review may contain spoilers!

Certainly quite a bizarre film, but it's originality and beautiful style sets it apart from many other films I've seen this year. I'd give Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned a 7.5/10.

This is kind of a take on any film that involves time travel or some distortion of time to advance it's plot, except it's unlike anything you've ever seen before. The narrative starts out by crafting this wonderful relationship between two young kids only for us to watch as the young boy, Sung-Min, gets years of his life stolen from him after breaking a magical egg. What unfolds from there is a futile attempt at reconnecting with what he's lost and trying to find a place in a world that does not recognise him anymore. The cinematography is very vivid and beautiful, there's a real attention to detail with close ups of eyes upon the brink of tears or hair streaming outwards as a character floats upon water. The special effects and the cinematography go hand in hand here, the suspension of time is a hard setting to pull off and this film crafts something really unique and amazing out of it. The score really provided fitting emphasis to moments of high emotion, this was a crescendo film with the score rising to the key points of the narrative.

Gang Dong-Won, who played Sung-Min, does a great job at portraying a protagonist who has to be unique in how he interacts with an ordinary environment; Dong-Won crafts a tragic figure who is very easy to empathise with. Lee Hyo-Je, who played Sung-Min, does a great job of introducing us to this likeable child protagonist at the start of the film; his instant connection and chemistry with Eun-Soo sets the film up well for what's to come. Kim Hee-Won, who played Do-Gyoon, wasn't necessarily a great fathe figure but he went through some great character development over the course of the film; his abrasive manner meant his performance wasn't too conventional but it was nice to see he still cared for his stepdaughter despite his tough exterior. Kim Dan-Yul, who played Tae-Sik, is quite a cocky smart-mouthed kid when we first meet him; however what makes his performance really stand out is his portrayal of grief after seeing his friend die in the time suspension world. Jung Woo-Jin, who played Jae-Wook, has some of the best energy and line delivery out of all of the young cast; yet this only serves to make the film all the more tragic when we see this character struggle with his asthma in the time suspension world and eventually pass away. Um Tae-Goo, who played Tae-Sik, is a really interesting interpretation of what would happen to someone growing up in the time suspension world; his distant attitude and the futility in his voice make him one of the more tragic figures in the film.

However the best performance came from Shin Eun-Soo, who played Soo-Rin. This young protagonist crafted a strange outsider figure really well, a young girl obsessed with the impossible or the unexplainable. However when she befriends young Hyo-Je we see an instant chemistry between two young friends that is very heartwarming and nice to watch. Upon losing her friends Eun-Soo's grief and confusion guides the direction of the film and the trials she endures after meeting Dong-Won are intense to watch. This young actress plays a role who at times seems to be nearly alone against the world and she does a fantastic job of it.

This film attempts to introduce it's young cast of characters and their living situations very quickly, even the revelation of the magical egg and it's ensuing consequences feels rushed. This would have been fine if the film had at least kept with this style of pacing throughout but after Sung-Min is reintroduced the pacing slows right down. The tone of several scenes also undermined the dramatic intensity of the overall narrative, often taking things too far or throwing in a plot twist that just felt unnecessary. The ending for the film falls flat with Soo-Rin relating the final gripping events to some writer we'd never even met before and encountering Sung-Min again in what felt like an awkward final note.

Kwon Hae-Hyo, who played Baek-Gi, is the stern police chief that we've seen in heaps of different films before; nothing about this role felt original or indeed very necessary to the greater plot other than providing a form of antagonist. Moon So-Ri, who played Doctor Min, was a character that was introduced in the last ten minutes of the film and came out of nowhere; she wouldn't even be worth mentioning if there wasn't some weird level of importance placed upon her role in the film. Park Jin-Woo, Park Sung-Yeon, Kim Tae-Han and Kim Jung-Young, who played Tae-Sik's Father, Tae-Sik's Mother, Jae-Wook's Father and Jae-Wook's Mother respectively, were a group that really lacked dimension to their respective characters in this film; these roles were never really written to be developed and instead only served to provide background chaos throughout. Seo Ju-Hee, who played the Orphanage Director, was a poorly performed and predictable role in this film; her interaction with the two protagonists felt a little stilted.

The Founder

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This film doesn't always seem to know how best to present itself but ultimately what we get is a fairly interesting story about a greedy and corrupt man. I would give The Founder a 6.5/10.

The narrative takes a little while to get under way but once we meet the McDonalds brothers things start to get interesting; we're delivered a rather fascinating and relatively unknown origin story about how McDonalds really began. This is a great lead in to what makes the McDonalds brothers such likeable characters and you can appreciate their side of things throughout. Shortly after this the film finally begins delving into Kroc's rise to power, we see how he gets the franchise expanding and furthermore how he ruthlessly wrestles the business away from the McDonalds brothers. This journey is paralleled very well with Kroc's rather horrible treatment of his wife and ultimate change in temperament. The score for the film worked well having a very peppy go-getter edge to it at first but turning more and more sinister alongside Kroc's character development.

Michael Keaton, who played Ray Kroc, really had the sleazy salesmanship and manic persistence that made this protagonist/(antagonist?) so compelling; Keaton naturally led this role down a darker path until you could no longer empathise with him and he'd lost any redeeming quality which worked well to the film's advantage. Laura Dern, who played Ethel Kroc, had one of the most grounded characters within the cast; Dern's ability to present a relatable character made the hardships the role had to bear at the hands of Ray all the harder to watch.

However the best performance came from John Carroll Lynch, who played Mac McDonald. Lynch is a performer who I really enjoyed in his one episode appearance on The Walking Dead last season and he carries on impressing me in this film! Mac is by far the most likeable and charismatic of the whole cast of characters, providing a great burst of energy from his first appearance onwards. Lynch is an entertainer in this feature, a man who gets a lot of joy out of his business and working alongside his brother. However Lynch brings a more worrying side to his role, we see his character grow increasingly stressed and lose control as Kroc gets poised to take ownership of McDonalds. This is a fun character and a great performance from Lynch.

The film starts off pretty poorly, failing to establish it's main character well and providing a backstory about McDonalds that feels more like a well-concerted documentary interview than a biopic plot device. As the feature goes along Kroc is never really developed to a satisfying degree, instead we're treated to a rather simple view of his character and how that role develops. The story often seems split between Kroc and the McDonalds brothers with the narratives not really properly converging until the very end of the feature. One of the most disappointing aspects of the film is the sudden new love interest Kroc comes into contact with nearly two-thirds into the film, it's rushed in and a rather mediocre subplot. The cinematography is bland to say the least, there are moments where nice camera work has been attempted but it feels too artificial and forced. The editing is indecisive and has a serious effect on the film's pacing, it's hard to tell if quick snappy cuts and montages or slow fades and transitions would have worked better but using a mixture of all of the above wasn't a good idea.

Linda Cardellini, who played Joan Smith, was introduced too late into the film to have much impact; her role's relationship with Keaton felt very forced and out of place. Nick Offerman, who played Dick McDonald, just did not suit the dead serious number cruncher role; he's only ever convincing when he's trading happy sentiments with Lynch and sadly these scenes are few and far between. Patrick Wilson, who played Rollie Smith, is quite like Cardellini a performer who was added too late to the narrative; Wilson's sudden appearance onscreen had no impact and his role was very forgettable - only serving to introduce Cardellini. B.J. Novak, who played Harry Sonneborn, weirdly comes into the film in the last twenty minutes in a manner that could have been much better worked out; Novak just doesn't have any sort of edge to his character and he feels like a rather weak backing role to Keaton's lead. Mike Pniewski, who played Harvey Peltz, was quite a two-dimensional bank employee; his rather stiff approach to interacting with Keaton was nothing I hadn't seen in dozens of other films. Katie Kneeland, who played June Martino, was constantly being forced into a very background role; Kneeland's character had a ton of potential to bring out more of Keaton's character but was wasted by the feature's script.

Bad Santa 2

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The sequel is just as awful as the first film (I know, big shock!). I would give Bad Santa 2 a 1.5/10.

The movie itself actually picks up the narrative from where the first one left off quite well, if anything what this movie excels in is adding more character development to Willie. I really enjoyed seeing a bit more of Willie's backstory, it was great to see his role fleshed out and the relationship between Willie and Thurman was made even stronger within this film.

Billy Bob Thornton, who played Willie Soke, weirdly seems better as the protagonist in this film than he was in the original; whether he's become more of a seasoned performer or is comfortable in the deadpan snarky Santa role Thornton does a good job. Ryan Hansen, who played Regent Hastings, is one of the more energetic performers of the cast; Hansen's blatant greed and enormous screen presence makes him a notably minor antagonist. Mike Starr, who played Jolly Santa, has the happy soulful Santa portrayal down in this film; when he's revealed to be a pedophile it contrasts so well with his performance and results in a great scene. Ranee Lee, who played the Choirmaster, is a sweet minor role in this film; it's nice to see a character with a bit of spirit and decency in a film as bad as this one.

However the best performance came from Tony Cox, who played Marcus Skidmore. Cox is one of the strongest comedic performers of the film, snapping back with quick funny retorts at every chance he gets. This role was probably the best in the first film too and it's great to see that sometimes 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' really does apply. Cox has a strong presence with an antagonistic attitude towards most of the other characters and a drive to steal as much as he can and fulfill his sexual desires after thirteen years in prison.

This is a comedy of the crudest degree, it's horrible jokes and you wind up laughing more out of shock than anything else. Because all the characters are as deplorable as each other and the plot is struggling to fill in the running time you wind up with a rather drawn out mess. The cinematography is simple, there's no attempt here at style; it's all a bit bland to look at. The editing is exactly the same, the cutting is simple and the awful attempt at creative transitions from the first film don't even make a reappearance. The soundtrack is the exact same as the first film, in some cases with songs appearing roughly at the same points of the film which is just lazy.

Kathy Bates, who played Sunny Soke, has really not done a good film in a long time; this nasty crude attempt at a comedic role is yet another performance of hers that falls flat. Christina Hendricks, who played Diane Hastings, is a little pointless in this film; her entire role seems to be a copycat portrayal of Lauren Graham's role from the original Bad Santa. Brett Kelly, who played Thurman Merman, proves that what sometimes works when you're a child performer doesn't work when you're a mature performer; this role is awkward to watch and the dialogue feels like it'd be better suited to a younger actor. Jenny Zigrino, who played Gina De Luca, feels like a very two-dimensional sex object in this film; Zigrino's sudden infatuation with Thornton's role is hard to believe (which is putting it mildly). Jeff Skowron, who played Dorfman, is an over the top portrayal of a nerdy security guard role; this sort of cringeworthy character is hard to watch in a good comedy let alone a bad one. Cristina Rosato, who played Alice, is a throwaway role completely; Rosato is not necessary to inform the audience how awful Hansen's character is. Octavia Spencer, who played Opal, is quite simply better than a garbage film like this; sticking Spencer in a trashy prostitute role is a waste of a stellar actress. Valerie Wiseman, who played Greta, seems like a side role that's a bit out there even by Bad Santa's standards; Wiseman bringing forth a serving girl ready to sleep with Thornton at the drop of a hat is as unbelievable as Zigrino's attitude towards sleeping with Thornton.

Allied

This review may contain spoilers!

At this point I'm just impressed with how much French was spoken in the film, Brad Pitt in particular surprised me by spending the first half hour of the film mainly speaking French. I would give Allied a 7/10.

The first act of the film takes place in Casablanca, in which we're plunged into a huge espionage operation between Pitt and Cotillard, during which they begin to fall in love with one another. It's a gripping opening and really sets the bar high from the get go. After this act the film mellows out somewhat into an interesting mystery about the identity of a German spy; tension is high throughout and the strain this storyline places on Pitt and Cotillard's relationship is one of the hardest things to watch. The cinematography is magnificent, moments of art are captured throughout the feature whether that be Pitt parachuting into Casablanca or young Anna being born amidst a bombing over London. The score is very gripping, it especially helps to enhance the slower paced back half of the film.

Brad Pitt, who played Max Vatan, is a very stoic and reserved Canadian agent in this film; Pitt's hard exterior masks a deep affection for Cotillard that defies the expectations placed upon him by his superiors. Jared Harris, who played Frank Heslop, is a really gruff senior officer who has a great underlying chemistry with Pitt; Harris brings forth an authority figure who plays by the rules but who you can also empathise with and enjoy while he's onscreen. Daniel Betts, who played George Kavanagh, is one of the best sources for natural comedic wit in the entire film; Betts is quick and sharp with his line delivery prompting some great exchanges between members of the cast and himself.

However the best performance came from Marion Cotillard, who played Marianne Beausejour. Cotillard kicks the film off brimming with confidence and control, there is no doubt that she is the super-spy and Pitt is her sidekick. However the strength in this performance comes as Cotillard strips away her cocky exterior to reveal her role's more vulnerable qualities. We see her unveil more of herself to Pitt to the extent that they form a strong bond and touching romance. When the film reveals Cotillard to be a German spy it's heartbreaking, made even more powerful by Cotillard showing her character taking her own life to save Pitt's.

The narrative really feels like two different stories as I've indicated above, we get what takes place in Casablanca and what takes place in London/Paris. This duality within the story serves to be quite jarring and has a negative effect on the pacing of the film as the first half moves quicker than the back half. The dialogue is also written to be quite stilted, some interactions get to the point where you eye roll at a few of the things that get said - Pitt tells a young pilot to think of his father not his mother when flying into a warzone for instance. The plot twists are well done but it's also fair to note that nothing within the film is very surprising, it's all fairly predictable. The editing moves at a slow rate, there's a tendency to linger upon shots and scenes that allows the film to drag on for a bit longer than it should.

Simon McBurney, who played S.O.E. Official, gives such a dry performance that you can't help but find his scene underwhelmingly generic; McBurney paces through his lines steadily without ever making much of a lasting impression. Marion Bailey and Anton Lesser, who played Mrs Sinclair and Emmanuel Lombard respectively, are some weak minor antagonists in this film; this pair rounds out the German spy ring at the heart of London though you could have fooled me as they were hardly in the film. Lizzy Caplan, who played Bridget Vatan, apparently plays Pitt's sister in this film despite having no chemistry with him whatsoever; furthermore Caplan's character was depicted as a lesbian yet in a way that seemed very out of place with the direction of the rest of the film. Matthew Goode, who played Guy Sangster, is introduced to the film in one very brief scene; his connection to Pitt is kept very vague and you're expected to feel a great deal of sympathy for Goode without the film going to the effort to explore his character thoroughly enough. Josh Dylan, who played Capt. Adam Hunter, has one of the more forgettable roles in the film; Dylan's exchange with Pitt makes for one of the most awkward to watch scenes. August Diehl, who played Hobar, is a minor antagonist that seems more goofy than menacing; his parlour tricks and jokes really undercut what could be quite an intimidating scene. Thierry Fremont, who played Paul Delamare, is a rather stereotypical drunk Frenchman in this film; Fremont doesn't have a whole lot of purpose other than to deliver some small amount of exposition. Xavier De Guillebon and Camille Cottin, who played Claude and Monique respectively, are one of the blander aspects of the Casablanca storyline; this pair present an extremely boring couple who have some passing conversations with Cotillard and Pitt that you'd be quick to forget.

Arrival

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This is an incredible film about communication and global unification. I would give Arrival an 8/10.

This is a science-fiction film that completely redefines the genre and how it can be portrayed, the plot is a really abstract look at a 'first contact' feature. Over the course of the film we see global political tensions rise as nations around the world negotiate how best to interact with the 12 alien spacecraft that appear above various locations throughout Earth. The central character of Louise is at the heart of this film, making stunning linguistic advances and bridging the gap between humanity and an alien culture. As good as this narrative is at a first glance it is heightened even more by the implementation of some great plot twists; discovering Hannah wasn't due to be born until after the events of the film made for a good turn and seeing General Shang as a rather amiable character by the end of the film certainly drove home the film's message about unity. The cinematography is really unique, no two shots ever really feel the same which makes for a nice experience. I really enjoyed the special effects, the design for the aliens and the spaceships felt very abstract and original in a genre that is hard to be original within. The score for the film is exceedingly powerful, it also manages to be quite staggering and unsettling at times.

Jeremy Renner, who played Ian Donnelly, was quite a charismatic supporting role to Adams' lead; his sheer fascination with the science of what the aliens present makes for a really engaging and likeable role. Forest Whitaker, who played Colonel Weber, made the perfect stern and resolute military man; I appreciated that he wasn't always onboard with Adams' direction but he supported what she was attempting to achieve - made for a nice neutral role. Abigail Pniowsky and Jadyn Malone, who played Hannah (8 Years Old) and Hannah (6 Years Old) respectively, were both brilliant child performers; the inquisitiveness and open nature of these two performances really made the plot twists around the Hannah character all the more interesting. Tzi Ma, who played General Shang, is a voiceless antagonist for most of the film so when he's revealed to be quite a nice genuine character in a flashforward I was surprised; Ma has the skill to craft such depth to a role that only had one scene to really change audience perspective of him.

However the best performance came from Amy Adams, who played Dr. Louise Banks. This is a role who you can really relate to it, she's staggered by the experience and responsibility set before her, yet she handles the task in a very hands-on and professional approach. Grappling with an alien culture and language really affects Louise's mental state and Adams does a great job of showing the various impacts of this throughout. Her growing passion makes this an emotional journey right up to the point where we see her interact with her future and solving a global crisis by the end of the film.

For a long time the film seems more like an answer to a philosophical question, as such you feel distanced from the characters and don't feel as connected to what's happening in some scenes. This results in long, stretched out pacing until the back half of the film get underway. The pacing isn't aided by the film's slow and clunky approach to editing.

Michael Stuhlbarg, who played Agent Halpern, is a character that the film never really seemed to know what to do with; at first he seems a minor role then later an aiding character and by the end of the film he's devolved into some type of antagonist. Mark O'Brien, who played Captain Marks, was a poorly written antagonist; O'Brien never really develops into a convincing antagonist and the film probably should have spent more time fleshing out his motivations. Julia Scarlett Dan, who played Hannah (12 Years Old), was quite a bland portrayal following Pniowsky and Malone's depiction of Hannah; she really doesn't have as much of a connection with Adams as the two younger actresses do. Larry Day and Julian Casey, who played Deputy Director Of The CIA Dan Ryder and Australian Scientist respectively, were just two of the central roles that talked via screens who only ever really dealt some heavy-handed exposition; these were crafted to be forgettable and throwaway roles. Frank Schorpion, who played Dr Kettler, was a very rigid generic performance of a military doctor; the character never rises to the alien situation he's in which is surprising considering he's the only medical role we see in this situation.

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them

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While an entertaining watch, this film certainly doesn't stand up to the Harry Potter series that precedes it. I would give Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them a 6.5/10.

What works in this film is what has always set the Harry Potter series apart, the way these stories capture the sheer wonder of magic and a fantasy world is enchanting. The best aspect of this film is seeing Newt Scamander lead Jacob, Tina and Queenie in a hunt for his magical creatures who are all more engaging and interesting than the last. I also appreciated the great use of comedy in this film, there's some great dialogue between characters especially from Jacob Kowalski. The cinematography looks good, of ten moving around an environment so that the audience can take in every spectacular detail. The special effects are stunning, the CGI creatures look amazing and the magic duels look incredible as well. The score is the perfect blend of nostalgia and original content, when the film opened with Hedwig's Theme I was thrown back to sitting in my lounge watching the first Harry Potter film as a kid.

Johnny Depp, who played Gellert Grindlewald, didn't have much more than a cameo in this film but he has me very excited for the sequels; Depp is a master at delivering some bone-chilling lines and i can already tell he's going to make for a memorable villain. Dan Fogler, who played Jacob Kowalski, is an incredible source of comedic entertainment throughout the feature; Fogler is really the perfect way of recapturing the magic of Harry Potter by portraying a Muggle seeing the wizarding world for the first time. Alison Sudol, who played Queenie Goldstein, is a very alluring character who is both enchanted and enchanting; Sudol and Fogler share some great chemistry and I enjoyed watching their developing relationship.

However the best performance came from Eddie Redmayne, who played Newt Scamander. Redmayne's skittish wizard globetrotter makes for a really interesting protagonist in this film. I appreciated how he didn't really seem to know how best to interact with other people, finding greater ease with communicating with his creatures. There's a gentle compassionate quality to Redmayne's performance, we see that his role cares for all life and he only really engages in action scenes when he's trying to defend others. This is by no means a character who springs into action, rather Newt Scamander is an wizarding animal activist with a heart of gold.

The American magic society is so different and harsher than what we're used to from the Harry Potter universe, unfortunately because this film mainly keeps qualities of wonder and comedy throughout this darker setting just feels jarring. This is most noticeable in the strange anti-magic orphanage storyline happening in the background, it's a plot that feels at odds with the rest of the film and grates against the more interesting aspects of the narrative. Really disappointing is that the best part of the film: Scamander's hunt for his 'fantastic beasts' slowly gets less focus as the narrative tries to push the weaker anti-magic plotline. The pacing is severely affected by the disarray within the narrative, meaning you'll be quite bored by the time the third act finally manages to roll around.

Ezra Miller, who played Credence, is a straight up horrible antagonist in this film; his role seemed to just twitch and cower for most of the time to the point that you didn't really see him as a character so much as a plot twist just waiting to happen. Katherine Waterston, who played Porpentina Goldstein, made for one of the weakest leads of the film; her tendency towards the same bland line delivery means you never really connect with her role. Colin Farrell, who played Percival Graves, is a wasted use of a great actor; Farrell never really stands out as a character and instead gives an admittedly forgettable performance as quite a two-dimensional shady agent character. Ron Perlman, who played Gnarlack, was a very simple portrayal of a shifty criminal character; he's dropped into the plot quite suddenly without being given much depth or dimension to his place in the story. Samantha Morton, who played Mary Lou, is the worst antagonist I've ever seen in a Harry Potter film; this manic Muggle seems so out of place in this film that you start dreading having to watch her scenes. Jon Voight, who played Henry Shaw Sr., is one of the most unnecessary characters of the film; Voight's gruff newspaper editor seems like quite a throw-away role. Carmen Ejogo, who played Seraphina Picquery, Was quite a monotone character who really made very little impression; I'm not really surprised as the British Minister of Magic equivalents have never been wildly memorable either. Jenn Murray, who played Chastity, just did not need to be in the film; she was one member of the anit-magic orphans too many. Ronan Raftery, who played Landon Shaw, was a Muggle with conviction that magic existed; in my eyes there seemed to be too many of these roles for the whole Muggles-being-oblivious-to-magic thing to work. Josh Cowdery, who played Senator Henry Shaw, was really only in this film to be killed off; his political role had little to no impact on the greater story within the film. Faith Wood-Blagrove, who played Modesty, is quite a creepy role with no real depth to her character; despite the film's best efforts it's pretty easy to tell that Modesty isn't going to be the film's final antagonist.

Sing

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Sometimes the most stunning animated films are also the simple ones. I would give Sing a 9/10.

Within this film we're introduced to a large cast of characters who are all written really well in this film and who each receive a really interesting story arc. I found this film to really balance out strong emotional moments with very clever and witty comedy, it's a fun take on the classic singing competition concept. The animation looks really nice, in particular how certain settings are given very beautiful and vivid colours. Yet what sets this film apart is it's incredible soundtrack, the use of songs to enhance comedy as well as to empathise character development is masterfully done.

Reese Witherspoon, who voiced Rosita, is quite a driven character in this film; she's relatable and you're really rooting for her from the beginning. Seth MacFarlane, who voiced Mike, is a smug and arrogant character who really makes his mark upon the film; he's never really the most likeable but he certainly has some of the best lines of the film. Scarlett Johansson, who voiced Ash, is such a fierce and strong character; her rebellious spirit comes full circle when she stands up and performs her own song at the end of the film. Tori Kelly, who voiced Meena, is a very sweet timid role; her development towards surmounting her fear and performing in the final show is one of the best character arcs. Taron Egerton, who voiced Johnny, has a lot of conflict about working for his father and performing onstage; I enjoyed how earnest this role was and how much he wanted to rise above his family's criminal lifestyle. Nick Kroll, who voiced Gunter, was one of the funniest characters of the film; he had so much energy and managed to stand out in every scene he was in. Peter Serafinowicz, who voiced Marcus, was a really tough father figure; the scene between him and Egerton in which they reconcile with one another is one of the most touching scenes of the film. Beck Bennett, who voiced Lance, really does the jerk boyfriend role well; his laidback attitude and dismissive behaviour towards Johansson really sparks an interesting storyline.

However the best performance came from Matthew McConaughey, who voiced Buster Moon. This was a role with a lot of passion and vision, who wanted to make something incredible because he cared about it. I really enjoyed seeing how much of a role model he became to the other characters, even encouraging them to rise above their fears and achieve their dreams. This is the funniest I've seen McConaughey in a film recently and he does a great job of keeping you entertained throughout.

If there's one thing I'd have to complain about it's that I took issue with how Mike's storyline was never wrapped up to a satisfying conclusion the same way the rest of the characters were.

John C. Reilly, who voiced Eddie, was a performance that didn't seem to have much effort put into it; he had a lot of scenes with McConaughey and generally wound up falling into the background. Nick Offerman, who voiced Norman, was such a bland delivery that you didn't really care for the role; it was such a let down for Witherspoon's character that her arc seemed to end with Norman being rewarded. Leslie Jones and Jay Pharoah, who voiced Meena's Mother and Meena's Grandfather respectively, just felt like simple two-dimensional background roles; these were characters who didn't have a lot to do and didn't actually add much to Meena's character development. Jennifer Saunders, who voiced Miss Nana Noodleman, was such a dry role and came off as too stilted; Saunders had this impassive quality that made her character hard to connect to. Garth Jennings, who voiced Miss Crawly, was such a grating and simple voice performance; more of a bumbling comedic relief element than an actual character.