Cinema: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Summary:
Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, is readjusting to life in the modern era after being awoken from a frozen fate in World War II. Things become complicated however when a conspiracy threatens to turn the world upside-down and Rogers' moral ethnics collide with the reality of the present day. With the assassin Black Widow, director Nick Fury, and a military pilot known as the Falcon, Captain America will save the world and discover that things are not what they seem, particularly when a mysterious enemy known as The Winter Soldier shows up...
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the ninth entry in the series under the "Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)" banner. For those who don't know, the MCU is a series with Marvel movies based off the characters that Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures own. The movies are divided into "phases" that detail a major development of all the characters and their trials & tribulations. Phase 1 of the MCU consists of the following:

Iron Man
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2
Thor
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Avengers

As of now we are in Phase 2, which contains the following:

Iron Man 3
Thor: The Dark World
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy (August 2014)
The Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 2015)

I freaking love the MCU movies. When I first watched Iron Man I had no idea it would become part of something much bigger. Iron Man and The Avengers are some of favorite superhero movies ever, with great action, good stories, hilarious comedic banter, and the idea that these movies really act like the comics they are based off of and being part of a larger picture. As such, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. After watching it, I think I may have a new addition to my favorites list.

For the sake of those who did not watch it yet, I'll just say my brief thoughts on them to provide context. Captain America: The Winter Soldier was VERY good. The characters were good, with newcomers getting their time to shine and returnees having a very believable evolution from past movies. The action was fast-paced and sucked you in. But the strongest point in the movie for me is the story. It really gets you invested, and may even get you at the edge of your seat as you watch the movie and discover how deep this story goes not only for Captain America, but possibly all the other MCU movies to date. See it and see what you can get out of it for yourself. There are a few problems I have with the movie, but they are so miniscule they do not detract at all.

AND STAY UNTIL THE VERY END OF THE MOVIE. IT'S BEEN NINE OF THESE MOVIES AND SOME PEOPLE STILL DON'T GET THAT THERE ARE STILL MORE SCENES AFTER THE CREDITS?

Ahem. OK, now here be spoilers. In order to discuss why I feel this movie to be one of the best, and possibly THE best MCU movie so far, spoilers need to happen. Those who already watched it are free to continue and see another person's interpretation of the movie.

As I said, the characters that returned from previous movies had a lot to work with. First is the titular character. As we all remember, Captain America (Chris Evans) sacrificed himself to save the world in WWII and was presumed dead. Then it turns out that he survived in the Antarctic ice to be revived in present day. In the Avengers we got a hint of what kind of a person Cap is; he's a career soldier with a strong sense of justice with a straight-track mind about what is right. While The Avengers played around with that concept, it was not used to its fullest extent. This movie does explore that idea further, with Cap trying to adjust to the present day new world order and struggling to maintain his morality in an age where there seemingly is none.

Other returning characters include Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), and we can see how their characters have been changed from the past movies too. In particular it's nice to see Nick Fury get in some of the action too. In past movies he was usually relegated to an advisory role to the other heroes, but in this movie we get to see him get his share of fighting bad guys too. Black Widow also compliments Cap very well and provides a few bits of humor in the movie too. In The Avengers we got to see hints of a more human Black Widow compared to her introduction in Iron Man 2, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier expounds on that.

The MCU's rendition of the its heroic roster was expanded with the introduction of Sam Wilson, AKA The Falcon (Anthony Mackie). He and Cap become quick friends because they both had military experiences, and much like War Machine in Iron Man, becomes a good supporting hero. His look is changed from his bright red and white getup in the comic books for a more black look, and while I do question that decision, he is actually utilized pretty well and doesn't feel like he was plastered on.

We have two villains in the movie: Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) and the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). Pierce is portrayed as the head of the SHIELD organization and has a plan, while the Winter Soldier is portrayed as Pierce's muscle to enact his nefarious deeds. Both compliment each other well, though of course the titular villain is the one who gets the most attention. Those who were disappointed by the lack of Cap and the Red Skull fighting in the last movie will be happy to find that Cap and the Winter Soldier duke it out by the climax. It gets especially more interesting when we find out that the Winter Soldier is none other than Bucky Barnes, Cap's friend and fellow soldier in the previous movie. That connect strengths Cap's character as he is once again forced into a moral quandary of doing whatever it takes to win while saving his old friend. And that's one thing good I can say about this movie: The villains. MCU's adaptations of comic book villains have been either hits (Iron Monger, Abomination, Loki, Red Skull) or misses (Whiplash, The Mandarin, Malekith), but I'm happy to say that Pierce and the Winter Soldier definitely fall under the former. Here's hoping that the Winter Soldier will come back in future films.

The action is also pretty good. The shaky cam was abused a little too much, but when we saw Cap in action, he definitely kicked a ton of ass. It is this movie that can cement Captain America as being a major force to be reckoned with. In the past we've seen Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk do their bits, but they've always had some sort of advantage to them with Iron Man's suits, Thor's hammer and Hulk's...everything. But aside from using his iconic shield, Captain America in this movie is 100% martial arts and melee fighting. It's a nice refresher after the zaniness of the past, and can make you love Captain America even more. Let me put it this way, if you didn't like Captain America before, you would definitely like him after watching this.

But the biggest strength of this movie is the story, and it really delivered and got me at the edge of my seat. As this is the spoiler portion of the movie I can give a basic rundown: SHIELD is becoming more weaponized supposedly to help protect the people and new world order. But after a supposed assassination of Nick Fury, Cap and Black Widow go on the run and discover a conspiracy that SHIELD is not all that it seems. In particular, Hydra, the WWII organization from the first movie, resurfaced and infiltrated SHIELD. We discover that Hydra had a hand in various world events in the intervening movies and may have been behind more than few "incidents" (Howard Stark's car accident in Iron Man may not have been an accident after all). By the end of the movie, Pierce is dead, SHIELD is disbanded, Fury goes underground to hunt down other Hydra remnants, and Cap and Falcon leave to hunt for the Winter Soldier. The movie works well both as a followup to Captain America and as an entry in the wider MCU, so those looking for either of them will be satisfied. Unlike Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, you actually felt like the characters went through a major and warranted upheaval that changed them for the better.

To cap off a great story, we have two post-credit scenes: One to tease the next installment for the specific hero, the other to tease future installments for other heroes in the MCU. We know that the Winter Soldier will return, and that Hydra has obtained Loki's scepter from The Avengers. And just in time for The Avengers: Age of Ultron coming next year, we have a sneak peak of two upcoming heroes: Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. I am so hyped.

Aside from the shaky cam abuse, one minor problem I have, which is more of a nitpick anyway, is the under-utilization of the character of Agent 13. This is mostly because, in the comic books, she has much more to do with Cap and the two in fact end up in a relationship. Doesn't affect much for me but I was hoping she would be used more. But that's what sequels are for.

Overall, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was an excellent movie. I can see why Marvel was so delighted with the final product that they greenlit a third Captain America movie. Good action, strong characters, good villains, and excellent story make for a fun ride. Discounting the Avengers, I daresay it's the best movie in the MCU so far. It makes you want to continue watching and yearning for more. A high recommendation for movie-goers and comic book fans.

4.9/5

Trailer thoughts:

The Expendables 3: I haven't watched the first two, but I hear people like them so I can see why they'd be excited for a third one. The gimmick of an all star cast of old school and new school action stars is still fun.

Son of God: Looks to be another flick about the life of Jesus, from the beginning of His three years of teaching to His Passion and Crucifixion. Likely won't watch it in theaters. Besides, Jesus Christ Superstar is so ingrained in my brain I can't help but think of it.

Noah: As said previously, I like the angle they are taking here with humanity not just readily accepting its death by the Flood. Unfortunately it just looks bland, gritty, and doesn't exactly scream "biblical". The setting doesn't make it timeless and makes you think of something more generic instead of the story of Noah. Emma Watson is in it so that's a plus, but it's a definite cinematic pass for me.

22 Jump Street: I haven't seen the first one, but I will admit this does look hilarious. I will watch it, but not in the cinema.

Heaven is for Real: I've been seeing this trailer a lot lately, so I won't comment much here.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Oy vey. Every time I see a new trailer I get less and less interested. It's not that the movie looks bad. On the contrary, it looks pretty entertaining. But I've already washed my hands of Spider-Man movies after the Toby McGuire trilogy. I'm so not interested in this reboot at all, and just makes me yearn for Sony to sell the rights to Spider-Man back to Marvel & Paramount so that Spider-Man can join the MCU. Not going to watch in the cinema, and likely won't watch on TV unless I'm bored.

Planes: Fire & Rescue: It's so obvious that the only reason they are making this is to sell more toys. The story looks to be a retread of the first movie and is so uninspired, but it will make a mint with collectible toys, so it'll still be a monetary success. It's a pet peeve of mine because while making a media product to sell merchandise is to be expected, you can at least make the movie entertaining. Heck that's what the MCU movies do. They make good stories AND make money at the same time. Planes: Fire & Rescue does not look like it will do that.

Maleficent: Nothing much to say again, except that I'll be watching this to see how Angelina Jolie portrays one of the best Disney villains ever.

Guardians of the Galaxy: NOW we're talking. When they first announced this upcoming entry in the MCU I was puzzled. Compared to the other MCU movies so far, this one looks to be completely different. But the trailer on the Internet and later as seen in the cinema got me hooked. But I believe this is the make it/break it movie for Marvel. If this movie manages to be successful, it proves that Marvel can adapt any of its properties from the comics and nobody would question it. And it all rides on the success of a movie featuring a bald alien man, a green alien woman, a tree alien thing, and a gun-toting raccoon alien thing. After Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this is my second most anticipated movie of the year. Just five months...Just five months...Just five months...Just five months...

Cinema: Muppets Most Wanted

Summary:
After their successful revival, Kermit the Frog and the gang embark on a world-wide tour for their show. Unbeknownst to them, they become entangled in an elaborate heist set up by the world's greatest criminal, Constantine, who happens to be a dead ringer for Kermit...
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I think nearly everybody watched The Muppets at one point in their lives. Whether it is the popular Sesame Street, the 70's-80's hit The Muppet Show, any of their (as of now) eight movies, or even in commercials, The Muppets have always been popular. What made them so appealing to begin with was a combination of well-written humor, characterization, and amazing puppetry work. I believe Jim Henson, original creator of the Muppets, intended for his creations to not just be silly puppets for children, but actual, real life characters that can interact believably to make them seem realistic. This is not CGI here; The Muppets have always prided themselves for using techniques with puppetry that have since then been deemed as revolutionary. Even with the advent of CGI, The Muppets have always stuck to their roots, and have stood the test of time that made them popular cultural icons.

My experience with them, discounting the now-separate-Sesame Street, was through the movies. I've watched all of them except for the second one. Almost all of them are a great combination of well written stories, memorable characters, nice song numbers, celebrity cameos, and freaking hilarious humor that relies on visual gags, in-jokes, and Breaking the Fourth Wall. But my personal fondness for The Muppets only came about with the last movie The Muppets in 2011. Using heartstrings-tugging nostalgia and really creative marketing, The Muppets became popular again after nearly a decade. As such, a sequel was inevitable. For my reviews, when it comes to another installment in a film franchise, I shall give my brief thoughts on each of them:

The Muppet Movie: Entertaining. The visuals of Muppets on bicycles is still amazing 35 years later. Among my top five.

The Great Muppet Caper: Did not see, though I hear people say this is the best one.

Muppets Take Manhattan: My personal favorite. A nice story with some nice songs and an exciting final number.

Muppet Christmas Carol: A nice-retelling of the classic story, except with Muppets filling the roles. Michael Caine did well as Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Muppet Treasure Island: Was alright. Never really read the original story though. Tim Curry was hilarious as usual.

Muppets from Space: It was OK, but I can understand why this is the one that temporarily killed the Muppet movie franchise.

The Muppets: Probably the most emotional Muppet movie by far. Does well to move the Muppets into the modern era and bring them back into popularity. Among my top five.

I really enjoyed Muppets Most Wanted. I haven't laughed this hard with and at a movie in a while. Everything you want in The Muppets is there and then some. Well, except for maybe one thing, but more on that later. For the purposes of this explaining why this movie managed to do so well for me, I'll be doing a few comparisons with the previous movie.

First, the story. As I said, the 2011 movie did its job in bringing The Muppets back into the public consciousness. It is almost fitting then that this movie decided to just go straight for utter humor, randomness, and jokes. Sure, there is an actual story that goes from point A to point B, but it is overshadowed by the sheer amount of jokes and funny moments in the movie. That is probably my only issue with the movie. The story, while entertaining, does sort of distract from the bombardment of Muppet jokes and makes you impatient for them to come back. By the climax, both plots come together and work well, but until then it's sort of distract.

Another point to bring up about this movie is its lack of "heartwarming moments". I think part of the success of the 2011 movie is attributed to the nostalgia and the Muppets being gone and forgotten by the world. That movie had tons of emotional moments that really hits you right there. In this movie, not so much. There are a few moments here and there, but the movie is pretty much 90% comedy. I think some may find that disappointing since The Muppets are known for their wide range of emotional moments, but I argue that this movie is meant to take The Muppets in another direction. Now that The Muppets are back, they could explore other possibilities with them. And for this movie, they really hit a home run.

Next, the characters. As usual, the Muppets are great. Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo and the other Muppet crew all have their moments and stay true to their classic characterizations. Side Muppets like Statler & Waldorf, Sam the Eagle, and Scooter shine through and contribute to the humor. And Walter, the newest Muppet that was introduced in the last movie, has his fair share too. The Muppet villain of the movie, Constantine, is a good and funny villain. As said, he is a dead ringer for Kermit and part of his shtick is being a serious threat while contending with the wacky hijinks of The Muppets after he and Kermit switch places.

At the same time, I praise the writing for deciding to switch up the Muppets formula a bit. A common plot thread in these movies is for Kermit and Miss Piggy to have a lovers spat, sometimes to the point of a lack of sympathy for Miss Piggy's character. Not so in this movie. At a critical point, Miss Piggy goes through a personal crisis where she reflects on herself. I really liked that, and it made for my favorite song and my favorite and funniest moment in the whole movie.

The three main human characters also did a good job. Ricky Gervais (The Office) is a good foil to Constantine as his "number two", and Ty Burrell (Modern Family, Mr Peabody & Sherman) is very funny as a stereotypical European cop with Sam the Eagle. Tina Fey (Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock) however stole the show among the human cast as a hilarious and hammy Russian GULAG officer. In keeping with Muppet movie tradition, there are tons of celebrity cameos that are for fun or add to the film for brief moments. I won't give away who exactly cameos so you can see and be entertained for yourself, but all of them were really funny.

Thirdly, the musical numbers. All but I think except one of the Muppet movies have musical numbers, and most of the time they do a good job in advancing the story or just providing more humorous moments. This movie is no exception. The songwriter and composer from the previous movie returned here, and they maintain that same brand of Muppet humor and heartwarming feelings. For musicals, I shall give my best and worst songs in the movie.

Best: Something so Right/I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu)

Worst: Working in the Coal Mine
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Final Thoughts

If you have kids, you have watched any material of The Muppets, or are just looking for a nice comedic romp during the later part of this month and the next, this is the movie to see. Aside from a slight story hiccup, this was an excellent Muppet movie and a good movie in general. If you're tired of that sort of humor that relies on dirty jokes, over-excessive  pop culture references, or plain stupidity, this is a must-see. I'd probably place it as my third best Muppet movie, below the third and seventh ones. It's just a fun movie all around. As Kermit the Frog would say, "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

Trailer Thoughts
Rio 2-I haven't watched the first Rio, so I'm not sure if I'd want to see this. At least in the cinema. But it does look visually appealing with a few good jokes.


Captain America: The Winter Solder-I have nothing more to say about how much I'm eagerly looking forward to this except "Just one more week, just one more week, just one more week..."

Saga: Curse of the Shadow-Looks like your typical, mediocre fantasy movie with swords and sorcery. A definite pass.

Planes: Fire & Rescue-I'm utterly dumbfounded that the first Planes movie did well enough to warrant a sequel. The sad thing is, Planes probably only earned it because they made a mint with toy merchandise. And I can imagine the same will be done here. Too bad the story of the first Planes, and likely this one, is so dull, uninspired, and oozes of mediocrity. It goes without saying I'll be passing, but at least the visuals look nice.

Heaven is for Real-Same thoughts as the last time I saw the trailer. Looks interesting, but not worth it for me in the cinema. Maybe I'll see it someday, but I'm in no hurry.

Noah-...why? Just...why? I'm not exaggerating when I saw the trailer and said "Oh no...". Unlike the works that have adapted the Passion of Jesus, the story of Noah and the Flood doesn't lend much to story. Emma Watson is in the movie so I suppose that's a plus, but aside from that...just...why? I do give it credit though for taking an angle not shown in the bible: That humanity will not accept its fate so readily.

Maleficent-The trailer they showed here is the second, which hooked me in, particularly with its haunting rendition of "Once Upon a Dream". I'll likely be watching this.

One last thought. Normally I'm perfectly fine with watching a movie in an uncrowded cinema, but there are times where I wish there were tons of other people. Comedies and action movies are the best examples for this. Unfortunately, counting me and my friend, the total amount of people to watch Muppets Most Wanted today on Friday was six. My friend and I were the only ones laughing. Sure, there was a lot of people watching the cinema, but most of them went to watch Divergent. Looking up, it seems that Divergent is getting a rather mixed/negative reception. Whereas Muppets Most Wanted got good reception.

Because Divergent is yet another story adapted from a teens book, and my belief that the Muppets aren't as popular in the Philippines as they are elsewhere, I think we all know which movie will get more attention during this weekend.

NEXT TIME: CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

Cinema: Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Summary:
Mr. Peabody (Ty Burrell of Modern Family) is just about everything in the world: An inventor, a scientist, a gourmet chef, a musician...and a talking dog. He is also the adoptive father of an orphan named Sherman (Max Charles of The Neighbors). This odd-pairing of father and son, however, wouldn't have it any other way, and the two often partook in time-traveling adventures in Mr. Peabody's WABAC Machine. But when Sherman comes into a conflict with his rival and classmate Penny (Ariel Winters of Modern Family and Sofia the First) and makes a mess of the space-time continuum, Mr. Peabody and the two children must race against time to correct it. At the same time, Mr. Peabody must also contend with the possibility of being an improper father to Sherman, and must face the beginnings of his adopted son growing up.
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For those who don't know, Mr. Peabody & Sherman is based off of Peabody's Improbable History, a short cartoon segment in the old Rocky and Bullwinkle show of the 1950's-60's. The premise of each segment was simple: Mr. Peabody and his adopted human Sherman would travel to the past using his WABAC Machine, meet various historical figures and witness historical events, and (educational) hi-jinks would ensue.

I vaguely remember watching this all of once, during the late 90's when I caught it on the now-defunct RPN Channel 9, but for the most part I approached this movie with hardly any knowledge of the source material. The premise alone wouldn't have gotten me hooked, but then I saw that DreamWorks was producing it. The films of DreamWorks are a rather mixed bag. Unlike Pixar, there are an equal amount of bad films to their good films. But as of late they've been on a role with the likes of How to Train Your Dragon and both Kung Fu Panda movies. So I decided to check this out.

It was pretty enjoyable, with a combination of memorable characters, really hilarious and heartwarming moments, and a good story that seems to look unbalanced with many plot elements, but they all blend together really well.

First, the characters. The titular duo are both great and manage to play their roles well without going into expected levels of annoyance. Mr. Peabody is smart. REALLY smart. Throughout the movie you see him accomplishing various feats and always having a plan and solution to almost every problem. This is especially evident in the scenes where he and Sherman are time traveling. Despite the dire perils they come up against, Mr. Peabody always knows what to do and is completely confident and cool. Yet at the same time, Mr. Peabody is also very likable. Often in movies you encounter the smart character who is an egotistical know-it-all that lords himself over others. Mr. Peabody is not like that all, especially with Sherman. He is loving and caring and takes it upon himself to teach Sherman all he knows and be a good father.

For all his good intentions though, this is contrasted with the idea that perhaps he has grown a little too attached to Sherman; this plot thread is not taken to the fullest extent because Sherman is seven years old in the movie, but he doesn't readily accept the idea that Sherman is growing up and wants to be on his own. It does, for lack of a term, humanize the brainy dog and makes him more dimensional alongside Sherman. Speaking of Sherman, he is also a nicely developed character too. Sherman is the one to learn and observe Mr. Peabody and all the events of history they visit, and also has no qualms with having Mr. Peabody as a father. We can see in the movie that Mr. Peabody taught him well with history.

As the movie progresses though we see other sides of Sherman: he's a little slow on jokes, he does need to be rescued by Mr. Peabody on occasion, and when he interacts with the third character Penny, he becomes more like an actual kid and is set on the path towards becoming a more responsible person. He starts looking out for himself, questions the judgment of Mr. Peabody, and starts interacting with other kids. Again, it makes the character more dimensional. However, it's hard to say if this applies to the character of Penny. Penny was not an original character in the show; she was created for the movie. As such they had to make a character from scratch, and...I'm not entirely sure what the writers’ intention for her character was.

In the beginning, Penny is antagonistic towards Sherman for being smarter in history. This leads her to start picking on him. Now I'd say, as was said in the movie, for children to pick on other children, except that the lengths Penny goes to prove her point doesn't make sense. She outright bullies Sherman, and mocks him for having a dog as a father and being an obedient dog. This culminates in Sherman biting Penny on the arm and setting the story of the movie in motion. I don't get it, really. Penny seemed to come off as a knowledgeable person, but instead of taking her ire out on Sherman through things like other classes and insults, she becomes a bully?

It's only when the movie progresses and she gets roped into the time-traveling that she becomes a better character...sort of. At first she intends to use the WABAC to get rich, but quickly learns that's a bad idea. Unlike Sherman, she's more interested in fiddling and having fun in whatever era she is in, but we only see that apply to one historical era because of the plot. After that it's hard to say what kind of role or character she has. But just because it's hard, it doesn't mean it's impossible. The way I interpret Penny's character is that she represents the side of life that Sherman didn't have at the beginning of the movie and begins to have by the end of it: being a normal child who has fun, gets into trouble, learns things on his own, and makes new friends. By the climax of the movie, Penny becomes friends with Sherman and we can clearly see the subtle beginnings of a childhood crush. With that in mind, I suppose Penny is an OK character. It's just too bad that she doesn't have more going for her.

The supporting cast is great too. Naturally, with a movie about time travel, we meet a lot of historical figures who all have their shtick and memorable moments. Special mention goes to Sigmund Freud (Mel Brooks), Leonardo Da Vinci (Stanley Tucci) and Agamemnon (Patrick Warburton of Seinfeld and Family Guy). They are all memorable and contribute to a lot of the humor of the movie. The humor does get a little childish at times (Escaping the Egyptian booby-trap through the behind of a Sphinx), but a lot of it is derived from character interactions, historical irony, or just well-written jokes. For example, just to see how smart Mr. Peabody really is, you can see scientific sketches, equations, and formulas that are just gone in a flash. They are funny moments to emphasize that Mr. Peabody always has something up his non-existent sleeve, and brings to mind Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes.

Finally, there is the story, and the importance of Mr. Peabody, Sherman and Penny to the underlying plot. The time travel angle rightfully makes it a humorous fun romp throughout history with tons of jokes, and while I feel that it's good in its own right, what makes this movie for me is the plot and idea of Mr. Peabody watching Sherman grow up. Sherman is the focal point, with Mr. Peabody and Penny serving as the two sides to Sherman's growth. It is pretty much the story of the bond between a father and his son, and how the father wants to continue being part of his son's life for a while longer. If Penny serves as the side of Sherman's life to come, Mr. Peabody serves as the side of Sherman's life in the past. He represents all the times he's had with Sherman, and how Mr. Peabody isn't quite ready to let him go yet.

It's complimented with another plot regarding how Mr. Peabody is an unfit father to Sherman, and it also represents how no matter how weird a familial relationship is, if it works, it works. Together it just makes for a heartwarming movie that is put alongside other funny stories and moments. I can see how, plot-wise, people may find it a mess. We have four subplots set in historical periods, the two plots of the separation of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, and the plot of Sherman's relationship with Penny. For me personally I don't find it that hard to follow, and compared to other stories that have time travel as a focal point, this is easy.
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Final thoughts:
Overall, Mr. Peabody & Sherman is a fun and enjoyable movie. It has a good lead and supporting cast with funny moments and a heartwarming and fun story. Its weaknesses mostly fall within the slightly convoluted story and a slightly weak third character, but how much it'll hamper the movie depends on you. For me personally, it didn't ruin much. I still had fun watching it, and I recommend it as a good family flick and for those who like DreamWorks.

****/5 stars
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Trailer thoughts:
Muppets Most Wanted: As said previously, I'm eagerly looking forward to it. The Muppets are always a hoot.

Divergent: Looks and feels so much like The Hunger Games it's not funny. Looks to be based off a book, but I'm not going to watch it any time soon.

Need for Speed: This one, I really need to shake my head at. As I said previously, why does this exist when we already have The Fast and the Furious?

Captain America: The Winter Soldier: Again, looking forward to it.
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NEXT TIME: Muppets Most Wanted