Wreck-It Ralph

With 1995's Toy Story, animated movies were rewritten on several different levels. The computer animation revolutionized the genre, Pixar becoming a huge studio in the years since. On a simpler level, it took something we've all thought of growing up -- your toys coming to life when you're not there -- and ran with it. Almost 20 years later, another cool premise with a twist, video games, is brought to life with 2012's Wreck-It Ralph.

For 30 years at Litwik's Arcade, the game Fix-It Felix, Jr. has been a mainstay, a popular game for countless fans. At night though when the arcade is closed, the games and their characters are left on their own, all of them allowed to travel from one game to another through the power cables. The villain in Fix-It, Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly), has had enough though, deciding 30 years is enough of being a villain while Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer) is honored as a hero on a nightly basis. One night, Ralph leaves the game through the power lines, hoping to become a hero (and earn a medal in the process) so he can prove everyone wrong. Ralph doesn't know what he's getting into, traveling from first-person shooter games to kart-racing games, but the old stand-by, Fix-It Felix Jr., could be in trouble if Ralph doesn't return in time.

In the same way Toy Story appeals to me, so does this Disney animated film from director Rich Moore (who also lends his voice talent to a couple characters). While the execution is there from beginning to end in the 108-minute movie, above all else, it's the idea, the premise that works so well. The thought of beloved video game characters, of dastardly villains, having this separate life apart from their video game is a thing of brilliance. As we play their games, this is their job, their day-to-day, 9-to-5 gig. When the arcade is closed, that's closing time. The power lines and outlets serve as a video game subway, the good guys and bad guys traveling wherever they so choose at night. The visual appeal is there -- from the sugar-coated kart-racing game to the dark, apocalyptic first-person shooter -- but it is that brilliantly innovative story that is most effective.

I'll also say that this is a movie that has a genuine appreciation and love for its subject matter. Wreck-It Ralph is clearly patterned after the original Donkey Kong, an early 1980s platform game that's since morphed and transitioned countless times, Ralph molded like Donkey Kong. It's cool to see all the video games living in one world, from the old platform games to the shoot 'em up action games, the racing games to the new wave of dance platforms (the end credits are especially cool in that department, Ralph working his way across countless video game worlds). There's some great moments early, including Ralph showing up to a Villains Support Meeting, the whole group working to get through their years of getting beaten down as villains. Their best line? "Just because you're a bad guy doesn't mean you're a bad guy." We meet all sorts of iconic video game characters -- check them out HERE -- with some other nice little touches, from glitches to how characters move in almost robotic fashion as their characters would. Clearly fans of video games were behind this flick, and it doesn't hurt if you're a fan too.

One of my favorite comedic actors, John C. Reilly nails the part of Wreck-It Ralph. He's made a career out of smashing a high-rise building only to have McBrayer's Fix-It Felix swoop in and save the day, and he's had about enough. All he wants to do is save the day, be the good guy, be the hero. Reilly's voice translates well to the part, and the visual doesn't hurt, an immense physical stature with his red overalls, his wild hair, and his rather large wrecking hands. It's quite the character, a great lead. The best development for Ralph comes when he meets Vanellope von Schweetz, a young girl and racer in the kart-racing game Sugar Rush. Sarah Silverman lends her voice talents to Vanellope, putting her usually pretty harsh sense of humor on hold. Vanellope is an outcast in her game, a glitch who threatens to shut the game down if fans want nothing to do with her. The duo forms an unlikely friendship/partnership, Reilly and Silverman doing an excellent job.

I liked the rest of the cast, but there aren't a ton of recognizable voices here. McBrayer is excellent as Fix-It Felix Jr. -- a gentle takeoff on Mario I think -- who's naive and clueless but in a sweet way. At one point as he tries to help a situation, "Why can I only fix things?!?" Playing Calhoun, the hard-edged female squad commander in Heroes Duty (first person shooter vs. aliens), Jane Lynch does a good job as a hero with the darkest backstory ever. Alan Tudyk plays King Candy, the ruler of Sugar Rush. Also listen for Mindy Kaling, Dennis Haysbert, Joe Lo Truglio and Ed O'Neill as Mr. Litwak, the longtime owner of his expansive arcade.

A fun movie with a very cool premise. The message for the kids never gets to be too heavy or too obvious. I look forward to where Wreck-It Ralph might go in a sequel. Moore has said it might aim at online and console gaming but that's for later. For now, just enjoy the original!

Wreck-It Ralph (2012): ***/****

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

The first time around with the classic Freaks and Geeks on TV audiences missed out on Judd Apatow's unique sense of humor. All it took to get him noticed was two highly thought of comedies, The 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, with a string of other movies to his name as a producer and now moviegoers know who he is. I'm surprised by some reactions to him because I love the sometime bizarre humor his movies have. But looking at them as a whole, most of them have a heart, something comedies too often skip by.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one Apatow's movies where he's the producer, and it jumps ahead of all his other movies as the funniest yet. Comedies can be difficult to judge because humor is so different from person to person. Something you find hysterical can fly right over someone else's head. But FSM had so many laugh out moments I'd find it hard to believe that it couldn't produce a couple chuckles from even the most serious moviegoer. What works is that the characters are real people placed in real-life situations with some off the wall results.

Peter Bretter (star and writer Jason Segel) just got dumped by his TV star girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). After three weeks of refusing to move on from the break-up, Peter goes on a vacation, going to Hawaii only to discover that Sarah is there with her new boyfriend and the guy she was cheating with, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), an English pop star known for his prowess with women as much as his music. It seems nothing can go right for Peter, but he hits it off with a hotel employee, Rachel (Mila Kunis), and goes from there as he tries to get over his heartbreak.

That plot doesn't sound like a barrel of laughs, but it's these awkward situations that do produce some of the funniest moments. Peter just wants to move on with his life but can't seem to buy any good luck. Some of the humor comes from really quick, lightning fast moments that don't have a lot of build-up, they hit you and move on. Here's IMDB's Memorable Quotes and then some worthy break-up advice from the movie.

Since his role in Freaks and Geeks, Segel's been one of my favorites whether as a supporting player like Knocked Up or his starring roles like here and I Love You, Man. He's funny without mugging for the camera, and it's usually his delivery that sells the jokes. Russell Brand goes down the more obvious route, the over the top sexed-up pop singer, and is hysterical because he commits to being completely ridiculous. Bell has the most serious of the 4 main parts, but even she gets some really funny parts. The big surprise here is Kunis as basically the most perfect girl...ever. Most people know her from That 70s Show where she played a loud, annoying, very shrill teenager, but she shows what she can do with a well-written part. Her looks are not in question, but she's funny, very natural and makes an ideal girlfriend.

The 4 lead roles are solid, but like so many other Apatow movies, it's the little cameo parts that take the movie from funny to hysterical. Bill Hader plays Peter's stepbrother who keeps in touch via webcam, Maria Thayer and Jack McBrayer are Mormon newlyweds staying at the same hotel as Peter, Jonah Hill is an adoring waiter who loves Aldous and just wants to be around him, Paul Rudd is a pot-smoking surf instructor named Chuck or Konuu (Chuck in Hawaiian, 'You sound like you're from London!), and Kristen Wiig plays a sarcastic yoga instructor, check out her scene here. These parts go in and out of the story and aren't key to the main story between Peter, Sarah and Rachel, but they keep the momentum going.

The humor isn't as filthy here as it was in some other Apatow productions, but it isn't exactly clean, good old-fashioned humor either. Check out the gag reel from the DVD for some of the best laughs, especially the last one with Segel and Hader in the bar as much for Segel's reaction as anything else. It's a funny movie all around and should definitely have something for everyone.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall <----trailer (2009): ***/****