Brave and Rock of Ages just a lot of fun

Paul Peterson

There are lots of summer activities that can cover an entire continuum of fun and content. For instance going to the beach is not the same as going to the Dali museum but they’re both fun things to do in Florida.
Not everything has to be deep and meaningful. Some stuff can just be fun.
Brave, the latest animation from Disney/Pixar, and Rock of Ages, the worst movie I’ve loved in a while, are both just that. A lot of fun.
Brave may be under advertised but the word-of-mouth is going to be really strong and it did open with around 60 million. It’s a beautiful film to watch. Animation is beyond anything we ever saw back in the day when it was Donald and Mickey and Disney was a pioneer. This has life-like bears and fish and a remarkable young woman named Merida, who wants something more than what her heritage might dictate.
I think it’s interesting that there’s this new trend to feature bows and arrows in films. Hunger Games, The Avengers and now Brave all have superhero archers, although word from the slings and arrow set suggests that Brave get’s it right where the other two borrow seriously from the credibility bank.
I really loved Brave.
Like most North American men, I’m a sucker for a Scottish accent and Kelly MacDonald does an admirable job.
The story is sweet, and the visuals striking, and it’s a great little film about equality and believing in yourself and courage.
The kids like it and the parents don’t hate it. Especially the moms. Pixar has a new business plan which involves releasing one major hit a year and this quality over quantity works incredibly well. They’ve never had a film not debut at #1. Pay attention Hollywood.
I can’t do a full review on Brave because it doesn’t need it Just go see it and enjoy.
It’s the same for Rock of Ages
Tom Cruise plays Stacey Jaxx, the burnt-out big hair rocker who has ruled the strip in Vegas for a long time.
Catherine Zeta Jones plays the mayor’s wife who wants the club Jaxx might be able to save if he’ll ever show up.
This is already more of a plot summary than it needs
They dance. They jump up from their bus seats and they break out into song at every possible opening and it’s all great fun.
Look, I like Cruise. He’s entertaining and his movies make me money.
Apparently he took lessons from Axel Roses’ voice coach and it paid off because the cat can sing.
He’s poking fun at himself and I respect that.
I have been pretty rough on Zeta Jones but she can sing and she does have tremendous screen presence. Julianna Hough makes Kristen Stewart look deep with incredible acting range. Not that it matters. Her love interest Drew isn’t exactly destined for anything other than a spot on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here or some other Don’t I know that guy show.
It  just doesn’t matter. It’s fun and you have to sing along. Cruise’s performance is worth the price of admission and the music is spectacular. It’s a Beech Blanket Bingo  for the 2000s and I liked it a lot. Don’t look too closely and you’ll have a lot of fun.
If you need meaning from your movies, go see Midnight In Paris and have a check up from the neck up.
As always, other opinions are welcome, but wrong. That’s it for this week. The cheque’s in the mail and I’m outta here Paul