Alpha and Omega

We have had animations movies about almost every living creature in the world to date but I guess somewhere someone missed out on wolves. There has been the odd reference here and there or a significant importance in movies such as Jungle Book but never a full-fledged animation dedicated to wolves and their nuances and obviously some adventure and a couple of love stories thrown in. Cute right? Not very though. Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck – 2 amateur directors in the field of animation come together to try to capitalize on the market gap as one could call it. But unfortunately come a little bit of a cropper. The movie is an OK watch and has its moments but the overall execution of animation and 3D falls woefully short. Nowhere close to the ones like we have been seeing of late.


In the Wolf World, family structure is everything. At the high end of the pack you have your Alpha wolves (either male or female). Serious, strong and they mean business. At the other end are the Omegas. Pretty much diametrically opposite. Fun loving, always upto mischief and their main role is to break up fights whenever they happen. In Wolf World they are kept quite busy. Especially if you are caught between the Eastern Pack in the valley and the Western ones in the hills. And times are not too great. Food is running out quickly and that is leading to major differences between the two packs who are led by Winston (Danny Glover) and Tony (Dennis Hopper). Winston calls for the meeting to figure out the way forward and they decide that the only way out is for Tony to honour his commitment of getting his Alpha daughter, Kate (Hayden Panettiere) married to Winston’s Alpha son, Garth (Chris Carmack). A marriage that would get the families together and bring peace to the land. Kate agrees to do what is right but a relocation exercise gets her moved from the Jasper National Park to one in Idaho. But she is not alone. With her is Humphrey (Justin Long) who is an Omega. The two have grown up together and Humphrey has always liked Kate. And is obviously thrilled that he has a chance now. But Kate needs to get back to the park to prevent the packs from shredding each other up. Along the way, they are assisted by a goose Marcel (Larry Miller) and a duck, Paddy (Eric Price) who play golf in the Idaho Park.

As I had mentioned earlier, it is the animation and the 3D where this one falls woefully short. Like when her mother tells Kate that she looks very beautiful, one really cannot make out the difference. The only entertaining part of the movie seems to be when Marcel and Paddy are on screen. Quite funny. But the shots of Humphrey Air Guitaring and some unnecessary melodrama in the end don’t quite add too much value to the movie and are definitely over the top. Even the wolves howling don’t seem anywhere close to real. No surprise that it didn’t make it to the Oscars this year or that it wasn’t released earlier in this year. I cant give it more than 5 on 10. But kids may like it a bit.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3345090329/

Killers

If director Robert Luketic wanted to classify Killers as an Action movie, then somewhere along the way he has gone grossly wrong. Random gun fire and mindless attempts at killing someone with some eye candy thrown in as garnish and a love story to boot does not an action movie make. And definitely not when you have Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl in the lead. It becomes a bit too much to associate action with. Add to that the limited talent that the two of them have. Mr. Luketic seems to have got that X factor of an Action movie wrong this time around. Maybe he should stick to the standard formula of Romantic Comedies that has got him so much success to date – and good RomComs mind you. Everyone of them in the 5.5 to 6 on 10 range. The likes of The Ugly Truth & Legally Blonde. Oh yes, he did make a non RomCom and a good movie at that called 21. Not surprising that he could not follow the same levels with Killers – Ashton Kutcher replaces Kevin Spacey – like duh!!!!


Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl) has just been dumped. Now why would anyone dump someone as gorgeous as Heigl is beyond the comprehension of my limited intelligence – but for now lets assume that it is possible. She had planned a vacation with her boy friend and her parents (maybe that explains why she was dumped) who she is extremely close to. She adores her dad (Tom Selleck) and absolutely loves his moustache. Needless to say, she is extremely protected and her mother (Catherine O’Hara) doesn’t quite agree with the whole concept but plays along. The vacation, however proceeds as planned and they are off to Nice, France.

Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kutcher) has a license to kill – no he is not James Bond – he works for the CIA or something like that. He has killed 13 people to date and is on his 14th assignment in Nice, France – now how is that for a coincidence. He has been trained right from college. Ideal candidate. No parents. No attachments. The usual mix. He bumps into Jen in the elevator. One thing leads to another in a matter of a few hours and he falls for her. Oh and yeah – he completes his 14th assignment also parallel – slick I must say. But that’s not it. Before you know, he has walked away from his role in the agency despite his contact Holbrook (Martin Mull) warning him otherwise, and hang on – THEY GET MARRIED!!!!!!! That’s where I thought the story was going haywire and it spirals down to god knows where after that.

Consistency has never been the mark of Luketic so I will not go down that road. But at least he has always given us a story that can be watched. This one was all over the place like the aftermath of an air crash with the debris spread over a few square miles. Katherine Heigl is the only person in the world that I can associate the words pretty and hot in the same thought / sentence but seriously she should stop getting into standard roles of the submissive, paranoid, cute, control freak who keeps getting Knocked Up (all pun intended) in every damn movie!!!! Surely, if she tries hard enough she can get roles that demand acting of her. No comment for the rest of the cast. I give this one 4 on 10 of which 2 are because I am in love with Heigl :P – even more so in this one – she looks completely sizzling – drool drool drool drool.

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3390441241/