DC LEAGUE of SUPER-PETS

 

Jeri Jacquin

Flying its way into theatres this weekend from writer/director Jared Stern, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures is DC LEAGUE of SUPER-PETS.

Krypto (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) is Superman’s dog and has been since being force to leave their home planet of Krypton as a baby. Feeling wonderful about having such a best friend, Krypto becomes a little confused when he sees Superman (John Krasinski) and Lois Lane (Olivia Wilde) and becomes a little jealous.

Lois notices and suggests that perhaps they find a canine friend for Krypto. At the local shelter, Ace (Kevin Hart) and his other caged friends including PB (Vanessa Bayer) the pig, Merton (Natasha Lyonne) the turtle, Chip (Diego Luna) the squirrely squirrel and the ever-plotting Lulu (Kate McKinnon) the hairless guinea pig.

All Ace wants to do is escape and all Krypto wants to do is hang with his bff Superman. Especially since Lex Luthor (Marc Marcon) is up to no good trying to get a piece of a meteor that he thinks will give him super powers. First of all he has to get the League out of his way including Batman (Keanu Reeves), Wonder Woman (Jameela Jamil), The Flash (John Early), Cyborg (Daveed Diggs), the Green Lantern (Dascha Polanco) and Aquaman (Jemaine Clement).

His plan fails and he ends up in jail but what he does not know is that Lulu gets a hold of a piece of the meteor and deduces that it only works on animals! Breaking away from the shelter, she did not count on what happens next – all of the animals gain super powers. But Lulu has other plans as she goes straight after Superman and Krypto falls for trick that makes his powers disappear.

Krypto needs help and discovers Ace and the others. He has no choice but to ask for their help in exchange for taking them to his farm in Smallville when it is all done. Now the battle for good and evil begins as animals and humans must come together to fight a deranged hairless guinea pig. Well, it just goes to prove evil comes in all shapes and sizes!

Johnson as Krypto gives us Superman’s best canine friend. There is not anything Krypto wouldn’t do for his Super-friend wanting to keep the promise to his parents. Always faithful but completely stubborn, trying to work with Ace after he gets superpowers proves to be his biggest challenge. He is learning to be a regular dog and what friendship truly means.

Hart as Ace gives his usual comic attitude of a dog with a broken heart of his own. Yet, he is always thinking of his fellow cage-mates, well, with the exception of Lulu. Once he realizes he has super powers, teaching Krypto to get a dog, Krypto also teaches Ace how to be a superhero and have faith in himself.

Bayer as PB is charming, sweet, cute, and filled with self-doubt and there is no way you can’t love her. Lyonne as Merton is hilarious and is enjoying his new status as a superhero in a very unusual and funny way. Luna as Chip has the same insecurities as PB and his superpowers make that feeling a tad more stressful but dang if he isn’t the cutest. Now, McKinnon as Lulu was the perfect choice to play the slightly, oh lets just be honest, totally deranged hairless guinea pig who has issues and is kind of love struck in a twisted sort of way. I just love her performance and it made me laugh – a lot.

Krasinski gets to be Superman, Wilde tries to keep up with evil as Lois, and Keanu Reeves is the voice of Batman. Can we please put him up for the role? He is difficult, dark, funny and charming voicing the man behind the mask.

Shout out to Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz as guinea pigs Keith and Mark. They had me cracking up so much and just wanted to cuddle the stuffing out of them!

Other cast include Keith David as Zypto, Richard Arnold as Waffles, and Alfred Molina as Jor-El.

Warner Brothers is home to one of the most successful collections of brands in the world and stands at the forefront of every aspect of the entertainment industry from feature film, television and home entertainments with worldwide distribution to DVD and Bluray, animation, comic books, videogames and broadcasting. For more please visit www.warnerbros.com.

DC Entertainment is the entertainment company for DC Comics which is one of the largest American comic book companies. Bringing such films as JUSTICE LEAGUE, AQUAMAN, SHAZAM! and soon BLACK ADAM, fans are watching the continuing film library that is being led by such directors as Patty Jenkins, Zack Snyder, James Gunn, James Wan and Jaume Collet-Serra. For more please visit www.warnerbros.com.

DC LEAGUE of SUPER-PETS is a fun family film that will be enjoyed by everyone. There are moments that surprised me with its adult language (sort of) and humor. But then again, if you want parents who love DC to sit with their kids who love animated films, you are going to have to throw a bone to them right?

There is fun, adventure and fighting the bad guys, well, er, um, the bad-mad guinea pig. The animation is everything one would expect from DC and the cast gives the audience plenty to love and laugh about. Lets face it, we would all think it cool to have a super-pet of our very own.

In the end – sit, stay and save the world!

WONDER WOMAN Gets Opposing Views

Jeri Jacquin and Vince Munn

In theatres this Friday is the highly anticipated film directed by Patty Jenkins with DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures bringing WONDER WOMAN.

Jeri Jacquin: First of all, it is no secret that I’m not the most ardent fan of super hero films, mainly because you can’t swing a tattered comic book without hitting one in theatres. I don’t need 15 super hero characters mushing up my screen time doing the same thing they always do – mainly tearing up the world that other people have to live in after.

I’ve been told in whispers I am suppose to slobber all over WONDER WOMAN because we share the same body parts (minus the wrist cuffs and svelty figure) because the film is suppose to “empower women”. Robin Wright looked amazing in her Amazonian get up, do I get points for that? So knowing you are not going to get it out of me my irk list is extensive.

Instead, from the get-go dear Diana is lied to by the people she is suppose to trust the most – her family, then she is lied to by a man (why should she be any different) and then ends up helping humanity save itself basically showing her altruistism. I spent more time rolling my eyes than cheering.

Yes, I’m just horrible for not feeling empowered by WONDER WOMEN which is why I am letting someone who loves all things DC do his thing and give his views on the film. Ladies and gentlemen – I give you Vince Munn, take it away!

Vince Munn: Diana (Gal Gidot), princess of the Amazons is a trained lethal warrior, blessed by the gods and raised on an island of women. When American spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes on their island of Themyscira, he tells of a great conflict in the outside world. Diana she seeks to travel with him into the heart of the conflict convinced she can end the threat.

Through her journey Diana will see the dark side of man while discovering her full power and destiny. Warner Brothers and DC comics have found the bright light in their dark cinematic universe. Wonder Woman is a film with heart, humor, and forgive the pun, wonder.

Gal Gadot reprises her role of Diana, first introduced in Batman v Superman, a highlight of that film. Carrying the film she imbues it with charm, beauty, and heroism. Were I a young girl, this would absolutely be my heroine. The core of the character is there as her motives for what she does.

Chris Pine is solid in his role of Steve Trevor. While he is the male lead, he never steals the spotlight and supports his lead in the best way. Connie Nielsen, Danny Huston, and Robin Wright round out the main cast, each filling their role with full talent and commitment - sometimes a little beyond what is necessary.

While the villains are there, much like most Marvel antagonists, they lack the bite you want. The spectacle of the film is there as well. This is a comic book film and feels like one, but at no time does it ever wink at its audience.

Coming out at this time in history, amidst all the politic and unrest, Wonder Woman will stand out as a beacon to women. This is a strong character and is not pandered to. A personal stand out moment is the crossing of No Man’s Land. You’ll know it when you see it. Absolutely beautiful. “I will fight, for those who cannot fight for themselves.”

Fully enjoyable, while at times feeling its length, the only real issue is that you could shave a close 15 minutes and probably have a tighter, better film. That being said, this is a lot of fun, a lot of eye candy, and worth a second viewing.

Jeri: Thank you Vince! Although there are moments in the film that I agree with Vince it really doesn’t matter because WONDER WOMAN will earn its stop spot, at least for a week. With big films showing up week after week, each one will take its place on the top stop unless WONDER WOMAN has other super powers that can keep her there longer.

In the end – the future of justice begins with her…apparently.