Trolls Band Together

Trolls Band Together; The film no one asked for returns w/blender of pop tunes only mildly pleasing in the first place, hoping for a hit of nostalgic dopamine before realizing the songs are only tolerable in bite size form. Animation cuts corners to keep cash grab profitable; D

Trolls World Tour

Trolls World Tour; Serviceable sequel doesn’t hit the heights of the original in terms of catchy hits & emotional stakes but offers plenty of fun new characters to the Troll cornucopia. Bloom is particularly excellent in the limited screen time she has. Harmless frivolous fun; B

Noelle

Noelle; Chalk up another Christmas movie that merely exists as a reminder that it’s that time of year. It’s no classic like Elf, though it tries to be. Kendrick valiantly attempts to inhabit the spirit of Ferrell but the script doesn’t have enough originality or surprises; B-

Trolls

Trolls; Candy coloured animation pays tribute to 80s toy through music > story. Family fun in style of Seuss or Dahl, but not as good; B

Into the Woods

Into the Woods; Sondheim songs hit emotional depths of humour, horror and sadness. Perfectly cast and performed. Highly entertaining; A-

Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect; Glee mixed w/Bring it On stakes its claim for originality by casting charming actors and using sweet mash-up tunes. Fun; B+

ParaNorman

ParaNorman; Why review this when someone has done it so much better? Check out: http://tinyurl.com/8g4vvuh  Pretty much sums up my thoughts; A-