reviews for
Rio
Location, location, location. It's Rio!,
"Oh, how wish I was back in my cage, with my mirror, and my little bell"
Jes Einberg should be forever grateful that the Oscar-nominated "The Social Network" was relead before Rio. That's becau his voice as Blu, the macaw, is so distinctive and perfect, that in my mind he will always be Blu. And if Rio had been relead months ago, audiences worldwide would think that Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder, misd his cage, mirror and little bell.
Now, for the movie itlf…
Location, location, location. Becau what's Rio, the movie, without (pulsating, colorful, exu
berant, romantic) Rio, the city? The story is delightful, though predictable. The characters are cardboard, even if 3D and feathery. But "predictable" and "cardboard" are the worst adjectives I could possibly link to Rio. The Rio deal, is that I laughed all the way through it, like everybody el in the theater.
Blu, the last male of his kind, is the happiest macaw, out there in a snowy town with Linda, his nerdy owner. Jewel, the last female of her kind, lives in Brazil, and is the saddest macaw, imprisoned in a cage and fighting for her freedom. She's a free-spirited soul, with the world at her feet. Blu has lived a sheltered life, can't fly, and loves every minute of it. What happens when they meet? Anyone above the age of 7 can guess how it ends (age 5 if he's en the trailer). But there's so much delight from the first minute to the last, that you don't want it to end.
I was one of the lucky few to watch the premiere of Rio in Rio, and at this point I can hardly wait to e it again. A Brazilian, Carlos Saldanha, directed the movie, and it shows.
The details of the city are all there, but so is the big picture (you know, everything that really matters, along with wide panoramas of Rio by night, of a crowded beach, of a sunt in the cable cars of Santa Teresa).
Lots of AMAZING aerial views in the action scenes. The main characters are birds, thus flying should be expected. Many of tho places showed in the movie can be visited by tourists.
Rio doesn't have the depth of stories such as Toy Story or Up. It is a simpler plot. It is, however, pure fun from start to finish, and visually stunning. Location, location, location. As a native of Rio, I could recognize most places, and was stunned with how realistic were the slums, and how the geography of the city, especially the mountains, could be so painstakingly reproduced.
The movie is not a musical, but it comes clo to it. There's funk, bossa nova, a few clich
s of Brazilian music and even samba sang in English (still conflicted about it!).
There is also the portrayal of animal trafficking, a centuries-old problem in Brazil, and the subplot of a boy who lives on the streets and must resort to petty crime, which adds up to a much-needed social commentary.
By all means, don't miss this movie!
Rio-an epic, lovable, beautiful and visually stunning animation
Not many animations like Rio come around the days.When i first saw the trailer and the team3d加速
behind this very anticipated animation, the Ice Age team, i knew it will be very enjoyable and fun to watch.Seeing a TV spot right now, i remember that it was all tho things, but much more as well.The quality of the animation was unique-only two or three movies can still compete with this and tho are Tangled, Up and How to Train Your Dragon.But still, there was so much going on in Rio, the birds, the colors, the non-stoppin
g stream of movement, lights, music and songs, around the carnival in Rio or in the opening and closing scenes with the singing and dancing of the birds in the forests around the city.So much was going on and with such quality, that no animation has matched.And tho epic proportions of the animation are its strongest qualities.Something one can't e every day.
The character development was very good, beginning with a little background of the macaw bird Blu's life, with his owner Linda in Minnesota.Maybe, the other macaw, Jewel, was a little underdeveloped as a character, but with positive reviews coming, there might be a quel coming on the way as well.Then, Jewel's background might be better developed.
With an animation of such proportions, some box office power along with a few Oscar noms will surely be along the way and the fact that it takes place in Rio alone, will act as an audience magnet, given that Rio's one of the most popular and non-stopping cities in t
he world.This magical feeling stays all along the movie.You just can't forget you're in Rio.
Rio is as well another example of an animation, worth the time and money of both young and grown-ups.That's what catches the eye.20-th Century Fox has made a great animation and with the possible box-office power of the movie, a quel might as well be on the works.
So, a great animation, very epic and visually stunning, Rio will keep everyone mesmerized and captivated long after the end, and personally for me is one of the best, if not the bast animation i've en.
I definitely hope for a quel and i'll definitely e it again, at the movies.
10/10 for this stunning, colorful, heartwarming and breathtaking experience, named Rio!
P.S.The one thing i thought was missing, was Bellini's Samba De Janeiro- this song can make the mood of every crowd in the world :)
My favourite movie of the year so far
That in mind, there is more of 2011 I have yet to e, hence the so far bit, but I absolutely loved this movie after eing it when it came out today. From the trailers and advertising it looked like a bright, breezy and entertaining animation, and in my mind it was much more than that. And I genuinely mean it when I say it is my favourite of the year so far, even surpassing the outstanding(if somewhat misunderstood) Rango.
What I loved most about Rio was its energy. Rio for me has more energy than any of the Ice Age(from the same team) movies, and its energy is truly infectious at that. Two reasons especially make it so. One is the writing, I wasn't expecting the writing to be this sharp, funny and witty, looking at some of the previous work the writer has penned, while the jokes are plentiful and come by thick and fast. The other is the soundtrack. It has a hu
ge amount of authentic Brazilian flavour and just ripples with zest. I loved the samba and bossa nova rhythms that pulsate thro紫米糕
ughout, and further fun is to be had in the Busby Berkeley-style beginning and the truly spectacular Carnaeval finale.
The story isn't perhaps original, nor did it need to be, but it is fast-paced, with many entertaining scenes and is very rarely predictable. There is also the obligatory life lessons here which are amlessly blended without feeling shoe-horned in or preachy. I loved the characters too. Blu is very endearing, and voiced brilliantly by The Social Network's Jes Einberg. Jewel is a lovely love interest, and her chemistry with Blu is cealessly entertaining and cute. Anne Hathaway previously voiced Haru on the English dub of The Cat Returns. She did a fine job on that, but in Rio she is even better, more understated and less shrill. I equally loved the villainous cockatoo Nigel(who avoids being a caricature and the like and voiced phenomonally by Jermaine Clement) and the constantly drooling bull-dog.
Other than the above components, what also made Rio was its animation, which is simply stupendous. I haven't en an animated movie in a long while(and I am a huge fan of animation) where the colours in particular are so rich and warm. The characters are also beautifully modelled especially the titular character Blu, and this includes the condary characters as well, and the sceneries and backgrounds are breathtaking with such a refreshing richness and warmth. In conclusion, a wonderful animated film and my favourite of the year so far.
Bursting with infectious energy and verve from music to colour to spectacle, this is one heck of a party you'd be a cuckoo to miss!,
The makers of "Ice Age" have decided to take a vacation from the cold and literally venture into warmer- much warmer- territory. Indeed, after three concutive outings through sub-zero temperatures, director Carlos Saldanha has t his sights on the tropical city of Rio de Janeiro- also the cond largest city of Brazil- where summer temperatures often hit a sizzling 40 C. And what a wondrous source of inspiration this so
journ has been for the Brazilian-born Saldanha, who "Rio" bursts forth from the screen with unparalleled colour, imagination and sheer energy.
Saldanha wants you to know that he is in Rio to have a party, so right from the beginning, all manner of feathered creatures of different sizes, colours and species welcome a new dawn in the 红药水怎么洗掉
lush tropical rainforest with a boisterous acrobatic quence, t to the infectious beat of the legendary Sergio Mendes (who rves as executive music producer here). Among the greenery is the birthplace of our protagonist, Blu (Jes Einberg), an exotic blue macaw who is subquently taken out of his nest and domesticated by a local bookshop owner Linda (Leslie Mann) in the snowy Minnesota town of Moo Lake.
A visiting ornithologist from Rio, Tulio, offers a quick and convenient excu for Blu to return to his native land- the last male of his species, he is needed to mate with a feisty female called Jewel (Anne Hathaway) for the continuity of his kind. Jewel, on the other hand, is only intent on escaping her captivity, but things get complicated when she and Bl
u are abducted from Tulio's lab by smugglers and chained to each other. By sheer luck and some ingenuity, they manage to escape, and spend the rest of the time trying to cut themlves free from each other, while evading capture by the bad guys and their evil cockatoo Nigel (Flight of the Conchords' Jermaine Clement).
Staying true to formula, Blu and Jewel will bicker like the typical mismatched couple at the beginning, only to fall in love with each other by the end. Predictable though the journey may be, veteran screenwriter Don Rhymer makes the journey a pure delight every step of the way with great supporting characters, witty lines and hilarious scenarios. Not often do we find all three in equal measure within a movie, but "Rio" is a perfect example of the laugh-out-loud hilarity that ensues when the three elements come together so beautifully.
A tram ride up the slopes of Rio is turned into a matchmaking opportunity by Blu and Jewel's three travel companions- a Toucan named Rafael (George Lopez) and two wicr
acking birds Pedro and Nico (will.i.am and Jamie Foxx)- as Rafael dispens love advice to Blu while Pedro st正月初四是什么日子
rums across the wires of a tram like a guitar and Nico croons a romantic tune. "Tell her you have beautiful eyes!" Rafael whispers to Blu, to which Blu turns to Jewel and says "Did you know that I have beautiful eyes?"
Rhymer also saves some of the best lines of the movie for Nigel. An uproarious song-and-dance item where he gets to introduce the depth of his villainy to his audience es him prancing pompously around caged birds cowering in their cages singing lines like "like an abandoned school, I have no principal". And when recruiting a bunch of thieving monkeys as his henchmen to arch for Blu and Jewel, Nigel warns them in a dead-rious tone, "no more monkey business".
Of cour, the lines are only as good as the voice cast delivering them, and thankfully then, the cast Saldanha has asmbled here is outstanding. Einberg oozes apprehension and trepidation with every line as the cowardly dork, Hathaway packs gust
o as the spunky foil against Einberg, will.i.am and Foxx have perfect comic timing playing off each other's lines, and Clement chews up his great one-liners with menacing glee (you may be keen to know that he also co-wrote the song "Pretty Bird" above). Their chemistry is palpable from start to finish, and their exchanges throughout the film are nothing less than spirited and lively.
But a lot of the energy in "Rio" is visual, courtesy of Saldanha's eye for detail and aptitude for action. The animation of each one of the characters, lead or supporting or even extra, is exceptional, their respective characteristics distinctive and inspired. The colours- unlike the duller, wintry landscapes of "Ice Age"- are dazzling and vibrant. And most of all, the action quences best appreciated in 3D- a flight over Rio with a panoramic view of Guanbara Bay, a narrow escape over the rooftops of the favelas, and the climactic finale through the crowds at the city's annual Carnivale festival- explode with vigour and verve reminiscent of that in the city's signature samba music, who Latin rhythms add generously to the film's oomph.
That oomph is simply part of the party that Saldanha invites you to be part of from beginning to end, and "Rio" has every bit of the infectious sounds of the drumbeats, the colours of the quins, feathers and headdress, and the energy of the performers in the city's most famous annual party festival. Yes, for tho of us who probably can't afford to take that Singapore Airlines flight down to Brazil, this is the clost you'll get to soak in the sights and sounds of that lively city. The best part of it all? It's a party the whole family will enjoy.
