After 10 years of Harry Potter films ranging in scope from mediocre to spectacular, I had high hopes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2. As a true fan of both the Harry Potter books and movies, I was anxious to see how filmmakers would handle the last chapter in the saga of our bespectacled hero, especially following the disappointment of the sluggish Deathly Hallows Part 1. Thankfully, the film is a gripping, emotional and ultimately rewarding conclusion to a fantastic series of movies.

The film really needs little setup, but in a nutshell, Harry Potter seeks to finally defeat the evil Lord Voldermort in a final epic battle. Part 2 picks up immediately where Part 1 left off. A relatively slow first 10 minutes soon blossom into a perfectly paced film, a feat not realized in the Potter films since The Prisoner of Azkaban.

The action scenes in Part 2 are the best of the series. The battle of Hogwarts castle is visually spectacular with bursts of light, well-choreographed fights and jaw-dropping special effects. I hate to beat a dead Buckbeak, but again, the battles scenes are paced perfectly and allow the audience to breathe and truly savor these final moments. As the castle itself comes to life with ax wielding statues jumping off the wall to defend their home against the forces of evil, I felt goose bumps appear on my arm. I could not help myself from whispering aloud: “That is freaking awesome!”

Another strength of Part 2 is that the film takes itself more seriously that most of its counterparts. The movie stays laser-focused on the main characters and allows really fun supporting characters to be just that, SUPPORTING characters. One sweeping shot through Hogwarts after a long battle is enough to show you the fate of your favorite Potter side character. Thankfully, the film does not bother itself, or you, with long drawn out goodbyes and individual battle scenes. For this, I give the director a giant huzzah.

Harry, again played by Daniel Radcliffe, seizes his role like never before. He is stronger, more believable and subsequently, delivers his strongest performance in the series.

No Potter movie review would be complete without addressing the fact that the movie and the book have disparities. I call for Potter fanatics to go to the film and let it be what it is. Yes, there are differences, but the decisions of what to cut and what to add are tasteful and well done. If the book is tied to your ankle via ball and chain, then do yourself a favor and stay home and read the book.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 2 is a wonderfully imaginative, amazingly paced film that is a satisfying and fantastic conclusion to a great series of films. When the audience finished applauding, I left the theater with a smile on my face. All that was left to say was: “Well done, Harry. Well done.”

Memorable quote:
“Let's end this the way we started, together!” - Harry Potter

Horrible Bosses has all the makings of a great summer film. There is the great cast featuring Jason Bateman, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell. The premise itself is terrific—who hasn’t had a horrible boss and has briefly fantasized about their demise? There is even the promise of seeing the raunchy side of Jennifer Aniston. After watching weeks of amazingly hilarious trailers, I was anticipating this film to be the epitome of a laugh-out-loud, catchphrase worthy comedy. Unfortunately, Horrible Bosses is a mediocre film, in which all of the truly funny moments are shown in the previews. This film has zero heart and zero creativity. Pardon the pun, but Horrible Bosses should be more aptly named Horrible Movie (you knew that one was coming, right?).

Writer Michael Markowitz reduces very funny actors into less funny versions of the characters they have played in other shows. For example, Charlie Day plays a recycled version of the Charlie Kelly character he plays in the hilariously funny TV show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Jason Bateman basically plays Michael Bluth from Arrested Development, minus any heart and any humor. Jason Sudeikis rolls all of his SNL characters into one unlikable, womanizing, morally deprived jerk.

The bosses in the film are truly horrible, with Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell playing such ghastly characters that I would not have been surprised if they had each donned devil horns and carried around pitchforks. Although each are temporarily funny during their introductory scenes, their characters are written as such terrible human beings that it makes them completely non-relatable to any boss you have ever known.  This is where the film misses the most. In the movie Office Space, Bill Lumbergh was a horrible boss, but his character was relatable to a boss that you may have had at some point in your working career. Lumbergh was fun to root against because of that relateability. Instead, these bad bosses are so over the top that their actions do not relate to anything anyone has ever seen, making them uninteresting and unfunny.

With a great cast wasted with horrible material, recycled ideas and terrible characters, Horrible Bosses is my first must-miss movie of the summer.

Helmets' secured, start your scooter engines.....................ready-set-go for a great ride with Larry Crowne starring, written and directed by Tom Hanks and co-starring the always delightful Julia Roberts.  It's light, it's entertaining, it'll pull at your heart strings, make you laugh and will give you moments of introspective pause.  Larry Crowne is like anyone's friend, co-worker or neighbor; the over achieving employee of the month nine times to be exact at UMart, after retiring from 20 years in the Navy serving his country and seeing the world; only to be let go at UMart because as exemplary as he is, he doesn't have a college degree for upward mobility at UMart.  Mystified is an accurate description for Larry's reaction. 

How many of us in these hard times know someone who's lost their job, foreclosed on their house and forced to sell all their belongings-downsizing is the politically correct expression?  We’ve seen people in this agonizing predicament and we all know someone just like Larry.  However; Larry picks himself up by his boot straps and enrolls at the local community college and begins that tour at age 50+.  When times get tough, a great solution is to go back to school regardless of your age to improve yourself and become a marketable citizen, when all that's missing is that golden ring-that piece of parchment signifying security in the workforce and yet does it really?  You'll see what other twist happens in the UMart family, my lips are sealed; suffice it to say, there is a hint of sweet redemption.

In strides Mercedes (Julia Roberts) and I'm not even going to attempt to spell her last name; that is a major comedic thread in the film, begrudgingly showing up for her 8 a.m. speech 101 class hung over from yesterday, the yesterday before and years of suppressing her unhappy marriage and career and carrying the load on her slumped shoulders.  She's tired, it's too early, as her mornings remind her of her own angst cohabitating with a husband that's a washed up writer turned bum who surfs the internet all day long and interestingly; he really, really, really likes himself.  You'll have to judge for yourself.

Larry is transformed by his experience at the community college, his college friends-young enough to be his own children embrace him, his personal style evolves and his zest to learn is contagious.  It inspires those around him want to find a new way, a better way to be happy and content, even under duress.  This is a great summer flick, perfect for the baby boomer generation who can relate to Larry and to anyone who's returned to college as an adult (as I personally did myself in my 40's) We understand what it's like to redefine who we are, over and over and over again in our career path; just like Larry on his journey.  Larry gives each of us hope and courage to put one foot in front of the other-to pull oneself up and recreate our abilities and ultimately ourselves.  Julia Roberts is ageless and a pure joy to watch and Tom Hanks delivers a wonderfully entertaining film; Larry Crowne plus; a sure bet boost for the scooter business. Go see it, just leave your helmet in the car-you won't want to miss a word!   

Better. Not great. Not excellent … but better.

Sadly, I am predicting that many of my fellow film critics will use these or combinations of these words to describe the extremely loud, action-packed, humanly-challenged, way-too-long, summer thrill ride that is “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.”

Back in the director seat for his third ride around Cybertron is director Michael Bay (“Bad Boys,” Pearl Harbor,” “The Rock”). Ready with some of the newest technology in 3D filmmaking and, apparently some guidance from James Cameron, Bay set out to make his Robot epic … and man did he come close.

Set a few years after the events in Egypt, the Autobots have snuggled nicely into becoming America’s weapon of mass destruction against terrorism. Now, fully immersed in the government’s pocket, the good guys work for us. However, taking a stroll through memory lane … we learn that the a few world governments and the Transfomers go back a little longer than what we realized. Now, with all the facts, a weapon is rediscovered that could hold the key to winning the long waged war between the Autobots and the Decepticons.

Sounds fun … right? Well it is and it isn’t.

Overfilled with too many ridiculous human characters and too shallow with Transformers, this film is completely unbalanced. Actors and actresses come in and out of this movie, making for a few sometimes funny but mostly plot dragging moments that take away from what really matters in the film … Giant Fighting Robots. Here is just a sampling of names … John Tuturro, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Ken Jeong, Alan Tudyk and Buzz Aldrin all show up to add their own spark to the film. Seem a little heavy? You’re right. With an already full cast of characters, our multiple hero characters feel a little saturated. Shia LaBeouf, back again as Sam, seems to feel so lost that he has to shout every single one of his lines while Josh Duhamel works his ass off to get in front of the camera, only to get undercut by Tyrese Gibson in the second act.

Of all the new characters, there are two that stand out. Surprisingly, it’s Patrick Dempsey and new resident hottie, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. What? Yeah, my reaction as well. Dempsey starts out as a stereotypical, rich, handsome boss character but quickly becomes a little more than meets the eye. Along with that, while at times she gets dropped into the damsel in distress role, Huntington-Whiteley also has brains for a change and is able to hold her own in the hour-long finish to the film.

Hour-long finish? Hold on … what was that?

Yup. Aside from the issues with the human side of things, the ending of this film is an action-junkie’s wet dream.  Chicago becomes a staging ground for hell and it is destroyed in beautiful fashion. Seriously, at one point I could feel my eyes dilate from the awesomeness. This is what we as fans have been looking for and while I still say that these scenes, like the rest of the film, were too focused on the humans, it cannot be denied that this is popcorn theater at its best.

Yet … what is the deal with the length of the film?

Way too long is the only way to describe this film. It just goes on and on, bringing back old characters, adding sub-plot, bringing in new characters and on and on and on. The opening scene, while interesting and adds to the overall mythos of the film, drags overtime and tries to beat you over the head with the idea of government cover-ups. Then, audiences are given a glimpse of what we came to see, but then we are pulled away, just so we can follow Sam acting like a sad sack in his stylistically cool Washington D.C. apartment, while he wallows in self-pity to his semi-naked Victoria’s Secret modelesque girlfriend. Part of it is entertaining and LaBeouf is extremely likable, but come on.

There really is more to nit-pick, but really, that’s all it will be. Nit-picking.

While not perfect, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is a fun, summer ride for popcorn junkies and film fanatics. Riddled with plot holes, character issues and an unhealthy unbalance in favor of the humans, the film does make up a lot of the ground lost due to the debacle that is the second film in the franchise. Solid action and few moments of cool (see Laserbeak go on his assassination run or Bubblebee transforming into robot form to fight, grab Sam and then transform again into car form seamlessly) help keep this one stay above water. Mass audiences will like it for the humor, while fanboys will rip it a part, but there is no denying that amidst all the product placement, military love and slow-motion scenes, Michael Bay knows how to make a summer movie.

3 out 5 Parasitic Mechanical Bugs

P.S. For those of you that know me … I hate 3D. I have seen only two live action films where 3D has worked. The first is “Avatar” and the second is … “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” I would splurge for the experience.

In Bad Teacher, Cameron Diaz plays teacher Elizabeth Halsey, a shallow and materialistic gold-digger whose only wish is to skim by until she can land a sugar daddy. Along the way, Diaz is the embodiment of all things “bad” by lying, cheating, bribing, boozing and dry humping her way to her goal—to get the boob job that Halsey believes will help her in her quest to marry rich.

Aside from the fact that the overall premise of the film and all subsequent motivations of the main character are built on her desire for breast implants, I was mainly disturbed by the way Diaz’s character was portrayed. I mean, her character is an awful human being. This woman has zero redeeming characteristics and shows no remorse for her actions throughout the film. She has zero back-story or reasoning as to why she constantly behaves in such an atrocious manner. Usually, in a film that presents such a terrible character, there is at least some growth that takes place during the film that makes you actually feel a bit of sympathy for the character. The fact that Diaz spends the film ruining several other character’s lives and still gets her happy ending left me feeling unsettled.

With that said, Bad Teacher still has its funny moments. Among them is a plethora of ogling Dads at a sexually suggestive car wash, an over-the-top cheesy love song from Justin Timberlake and quite possibly the best dry-hump ever caught on film.

The film’s only bright, genuine and truly funny moments feature Jason Segel as gym teacher Russell Gettis. An “every-man” gym teacher, Russell describes himself as a Terminator robot that will pursue Diaz forever. I am not sure what a good guy like Russell would see in Halsey, but I was thankful for his presence in this movie. Raunchy but good-hearted, Russell’s hilarious one-liners are a highlight of the film.

I suppose Bad Teacher was entertaining, if you like a movie without morals (which I do from time to time). The only thing I took away from the film is that boob jobs are the way to get to the top? Expect to leave the theater feeling a bit skeeved out and wondering about the state of today’s educational system.

Memorable quote: “It's medicinal, see I have a note.” - Elizabeth Halsey

KANSAS CITY, MO – CinemaKC, a not-for-profit organization connecting film related groups in Kansas and Missouri, will host the Tallgrass Film Association for a program of some of their favorite short films from past Tallgrass Film Festivals, including some of their top selections from Kansas filmmakers. The screening at the Screenland Crown Center on Saturday, June 25 includes a mixer at 6:30pm followed by the screenings and a Q&A with filmmakers starting at 7:30pm.

Selections include:

• Kavi (2009/USA, KS) Director Gregg Helvey *nominated for 2010 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short
• Candy (2010/USA, KS) Director Misti Boland *winner of Spotlight on Kansas Filmmakers Audience Award
• Official Selection (2009/USA, KS) Director Vince Masciale
• Dried Up (2010/USA, KS) Directors I, Powers, J. Casper
• Electric Revolution (2008/USA, KS) Director M. Moormann, *winner of Tallgrass Audience Award, Short Film
• The Job (2007, USA) Director Jonathan Browning
• Photograph of Jesus (2010/UK) Director Laurie Hill
• Spider (2007/Australia) Director Nash Edgerton
• Learn Self Defense (2005/USA, KS) Director Chris Harding, *winner of Tallgrass Audience Award, Short Film
• Elijah Returns (2007/USA/KS) Director Tyler Emerson

The program is co-sponsored by the Kansas Film Commission. Tickets are $8, and available at www.screenland.com or at the door.  Tickets for Students are $6.   CinemaKC is an initiative of the Film Society of Greater Kansas City, connecting with movie lovers since 1991. For more information contact John Shipp at 816-718-4337 or Leilani@leilanihaywood.com.

CinemaKC’s Strategic Partners: ArtsKC, Film Commission of Greater Kansas City, Blackberry Castle Productions, Film Society of Greater Kansas City, Independent Filmmaker’s Coalition, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, Kansas City FilmFest, Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee, Kansas City Fringe Festival, Kansas City Screenwriters, Kansas City Urban Film Festival, Kansas City Women in Film and TV, Kansas Film Commission, Kansas International Film Festival, Missouri Film Commission, Missouri Motion Media Association, Reel Spirit, Thank You Walt Disney, UMKC Film Department, United Motion Picture Association, University of Kansas Film and Media Studies, Variety the Children's Charity of Greater Kansas City, and Women of the Motion Picture Industry.

CinemaKC’s Business Alliances:  Allied Integrated Marketing, Allied Theatre Craft, American Heartland Theatre,  Haywood Marketing Communications, Kansas City Area Development Council, KC Stage Magazine, KC Studio, Prizm Productions, Screenland Armour, Screenland Crossroads, Screenland Crown Center, StagePort KC, Substream Music and Sound Design and T2.

I just discovered something amazing. Something, so awesome, that seriously, I have been hoping – no dreaming about it since my dad bought me my first comic book. I can be a super hero.

No, wait … I know what you’re thinking, “Alex, you are full of crap.”

Maybe I am, but this is, this super hero thing, it’s true. I am qualified to become a member of the Green Lantern Corps. How? Why? Who cares? I’ll tell you. Because I just had the will power to sit through all 105 minutes of director Martin Campbell’s jade-filled, snore-fest “Green Lantern” and I’m not afraid to say it. Yes, that means I too can harness the power of will, so now it is my duty to inform and protect the galaxy from the evil menace that is this film.

It’s hard to describe how truly boring the first half of this film is. Usually, I try to paint a pretty picture of the story so that, at the very least, my adoring public will see that I was somewhat interested in what I was watching. But not here. The story doesn’t matter because overall, it’s just a clunky mess of bad acting, choppy cuts, poor computer generation and worst of all a whole lot of dumb. Which is tragic because the Green Lantern name and brand is so strong in comic book lore.

I’m not even sure where to begin.

So much time is wasted in the first half of the film that when things do pick up, you just don’t care. Random characters are introduced that serve absolutely no purpose other than to take up screen time and distract the audience from the complete lack of cohesive story. Example 1: Four, seemingly family, characters are introduced. Never named, never mentioned again. Nothing. … Then why even have them? Example 2: If the main baddie, Parallax is already on his way to Earth to wreak havoc … why do you need a human, seemingly stricken with Elephantitis of the cranium, to cause trouble?

Answer: Because someone never got out their red pen and edited anything out.

Also, since we are already on the whole character subject. Ryan Reynolds (“Buried,” “The Proposal”)  … (shaking my head as I type) has so much potential. Great super heroe-sque body. Great, likeable person, that the audience can identify with and root for. But not here. For some reason, the writing team, all four or five of them, decided to take all the good things about Reynolds’ casting and destroy it. Instead of a solid hero character, we get a dude that shows no heroic motives (in fact, he kind of purposely gets his partner “killed” in a training exercise) and harbors suicidal tendencies while flying multi-million dollar fighter jets. Wasteful. And, unfortunately, Reynolds isn’t the only one. Blake Lively, Petter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Tim Robbins and Angela Bassett all are poorly directed, leaving performances as green as someone with motion sickness.

And that’s not all. There is so much more.

But … why bother.

I could go into detail about how laughable the special effects are, but what does it matter. You can see that from the previews. I could try to make you laugh as I describe how ridiculously huge the holes are in the story, but I would be wasting both of our time.

I love super hero films. I own some of the best and some of the worst on DVD. I watch them because, they are a part of my childhood dreams and because deep down, everyone wants to be great. People want to do something extraordinary. Want to be the hero. I know how to suspend my sense of reality … believe me. But, this film is so bad, that I wanted to leave. I wanted to get up and walk out.

That’s how disappointed I was.

The humor was off and the things that were supposed to be serious instead made you chuckle from the silliness.

Oh, and in the beginning ... I said that the first half was boring ... yeah, the second half, not much better. Just FYI.

Obviously, the staff that worked on this film, worked very hard, but they were betrayed. It’s clear that the director and the writing team never knew what kind of film they wanted to make. This film is all over the place and extremely poorly executed. I would go as far as to say that this film ranks up there with Dolph Lundgren’s version of the “Punisher,” “Howard the Duck” and the 1990 “Captain America.”

Epic Failure.

1.5 out 5 Rings of Boredom

Your Personal Film Festival Featuring Horror, Drama and Much More!!

KANSAS CITY, MO – CinemaKC, a not-for-profit organization connecting film related groups in Kansas and Missouri, is showcasing local filmmakers on a weekly TV show. “CinemaKC” broadcasts every Saturday night at 9:30pm on KSMO-TV 62. The June series features Kansas City filmmakers Jim Schweers, Tim Harvey, Andrea Agosto, Justin Gardner, Patrick Rea, Mary Beth Brand, Devin Schwyhart and Alan Handley.

The June 4^th episode spotlights Schweers award-winning comedic “How to Tuck in Your Shirt,” Harvey’s “Dinner Time,” and Agosto’s “Untitled.” Schweers was inspired by a book of tips about the best ways to do ordinary things. “In one book I found a shirt-tucking method, which seemed odd, and it stuck in my memory,” says Schweers. “So I decided to do a demonstration video. But the actual method took only 30 seconds to describe, so I made up the rest and gave it a personal chronological structure."

Harvey is a Kansas City based writer, director, actor and editor, with  a passion for film noir movies. He has directed three short film noir musicals, is developing a noir feature, and has written and directed a 1920s silent film shot on green screen and several other films covering multiple genres. He is the co-writer of the feature film  “Devil’s Fork” and was the Art Director for the feature film  “Fetch.”

Harvey’s  “Dinnertime,” is a hilarious horror-comedy that postulates the idea of Jason, Carrie, and Michael Myers all being in the same family and sitting down for a lovely dinner on Halloween night.

Agosto graduated from Washington High School as Salutatorian in 2005.  She has acted in several professional theatre production companies throughout Kansas City, as well as several regional commercials, but has her heart set on directing. Agosto received her Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Studies in May 2009 from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  She has received many awards for her acting skills and is extremely proud of winning "Best Student Documentary" at the 2009 Kansas City Film Fest, for her short, "Untitled."  She is currently in pre-production stages for a short narrartive.

Justin Gardner’s films “Paul,” “Tender,” “We Will Make You Whole Again,” and the trailer for “Dead Wait” are featured in the June 11th episode. Gardner co-directed "We Will Make You Whole Again" with Trevor Hawkins of Mammoth Media. For "Paul" he co-wrote the film with Paul Burns and co-directed with Brandon Cummins. He produced Jerry Rapp's film "Tender" and is currently co-writing, co-producing and co-directing the second season of "Dead Wait."

Gardner lives in Kansas City, MO and works as a Social Media Manager for AMC Theatres, one of the largest motion picture exhibitors in the world. He is a Board Member of the Film Commission of Greater Kansas City where he has developed, with the blessing of the Altman family, The Robert Altman Emerging Filmmakers Fund, a grant program designed to help filmmakers in the greater Kansas City area better realize their visions. He is also a Board Member of CinemaKC, which seeks to unify all of the various filmmaking organizations in Kansas and Missouri to better serve the movie going public.

Patrick Rea's award-winning "Get Off My Porch," and "Woman's Intuition" are featured in the June 18th episode. Both films garnered critical acclaim on the festival circuit. Rea started SenoReality Pictures with Ryan S. Jones, while attending film school at the University of Kansas in 2001.  Since then, Rea has directed over 20 short films that have screened at festivals such as Palm Beach International Film Festival, Shriekfest LA, The New York City Horror Film Festival, A Night of Horror Film Festival,  Fright Night Film Festival, Dragon Con Film Festival, Eerie Horror Film Festival and Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors. 

These shorts have also screened on FangoriaTV, Horror Channel.com and DreadCentral.com.  SenoReality’s first feature film “The Empty Acre” was completed in 2006 and premiered at the Kansas International Film Festival.  The film received positive reviews from critics and was released on DVD from Cinema Epoch in 2007.  That same year, a collection of shorts directed by Rea were released on an anthology DVD titled “Heartland Horrors” from Elite Entertainment.

Mary Beth Brand's "The Tooth Fairy," Devin Schwyhart's "Critical Mass: 719" and Alan Handley's "See You Again" are the featured films for the June 25th episode. Brand is a senior at Avila University graduating this spring with a degree in Communications with an emphasis in Film and Digital Media.  When she is not shooting weddings as an associate photographer at epagaFOTO, you will find her directing and editing short films. 

Brand believes that all films depend on the impact of details; one single image can sum up the essence of a film.  She loves to explore her ideas and different film techniques in the avant-garde genre which allows her to not follow any rules while relaying a societal message.  The tag line for The Tooth Fairy is ‘What Part of Yourself Have You Sold to Feed Your Greed.’  One of her film shorts, “Into the Blues,” was recently screened at the Jubilee Film Festival in April. You can check out some of her detail shots at www.epagafoto.com.

Schwyhart is a Kansas native from Winfield and attends the University of Kansas in Lawrence. He is the current undergraduate representative on the Film Media Department Committee and is heavily involved with the KU FMS Department. His film “Poeta” won best documentary at the 2009 KU FMS Tensie Awards and most recently best film at the KU SUA International Student Film Fest sponsored by the Guanajuato International Film Festival.

Devin was awarded the Chris Martin Visual Effects award for his compositing/visual effects work on “The Nuclear Standard,” which went on to win best film at the 2010 KU FMS Tensie Awards. “Critical Mass: 719” was the first student film to be shot on a RED camera. It went on to win best cinematography, best editing, and best sound at the 2010 KU FMS Tensie Awards and is currently making its way in the festival circuit.

“See You Again,” directed by Alan Handley with the assistance of Sean Church as cinematographer, is a series of flashbacks spurred by a one-night stand.

CinemaKC is the first TV show in Kansas City to spotlight local filmmakers, producers, directors and actors. A team of volunteers produced the show. For more information about CinemaKC, visit online at cinemakc.com  or Facebook.com/CinemaKC.

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CinemaKC’s Strategic Partners: ArtsKC, Film Commission of Greater Kansas City, Blackberry Castle Productions, Film Society of Greater Kansas City, Independent Filmmaker’s Coalition, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, Kansas City FilmFest, Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee, Kansas City Fringe Festival, Kansas City Screenwriters, Kansas City Urban Film Festival, Kansas City Women in Film and TV, Kansas Film Commission, Kansas International Film Festival, Missouri Film Commission, Missouri Motion Media Association, Reel Spirit, Thank You Walt Disney, UMKC Film Department, United Motion Picture Association, University of Kansas Film and Media Studies, Variety the Children's Charity of Greater Kansas City, and Women of the Motion Picture Industry.

CinemaKC’s Business Alliances:  Allied Integrated Marketing, Allied Theatre Craft, American Heartland Theatre,  Haywood Marketing Communications, Kansas City Area Development Council, KC Stage Magazine, KC Studio, Prizm Productions, Screenland Armour, Screenland Crossroads, Screenland Crown Center, StagePort KC, Substream Music and Sound Design and T2.

The old saying, "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” immediately comes to mind after seeing the continued shenanigans of Phil, Stu and Alan in “The Hangover Part II.” Of course, I’m talking about the one and only Wolf Pack that nearly brought Las Vegas to its knees and sent audiences home in stitches in their 2009 debut -  “The Hangover.” Now, with a freshly fabricated tooth, the team heads east to Thailand where Stu is preparing to marry the gorgeous and completely out of his league Lauren (Jamie Chung of “Sucker Punch” fame).  However, even when trying to stay out of trouble, the allure of the night, hardcore drinking and possibly getting roofied are too much to keep the Pack safe and alas, as the saying goes … “Bangkok has them now.”

Directed once again by Todd Phillips, “The Hangover Part II” is an insanely funny, disturbingly raunchy laugh-fest that builds upon the comedy established in its predecessor. With almost the entire cast returning for the party, the chemistry is so over-whelming brilliant, that you can’t wait for bad things to start happening.

Bradley Cooper (“The A-Team”), Ed Helms (“The Office”) and Zach Galifianakis ("Due Date") are without a doubt, an unbeatable trio that knows how to keep the laughs going strong. Partner them up with the over-the-top styling of  International Criminal, Mr. Chow (the one and only Señior Chang, Ken Jeong of “Community”) and you get some of the funniest, jaw-dropping, eye covering hilarity that you’ll experience this summer.

However, not everything is a sweet umbrella drink. There is a lot of stuff going on - hell, there’s even a cigarette smoking, drug dealing monkey in the mix. As the story starts to unravel, the film begins to have this “and then … and then … and then,” feeling to it. Clunkily, the situations move from one scenario to the next and for a short time, it feels a little forced. This does allow for some wonderful transition moments where the filmmakers can highlight the very strong soundtrack, but … you know … a little editing down would have helped the audience get back to the laughs faster.

But, with that being said, fans of the franchise will not be disappointed. Yes, some people will comment that this film is an exact repeat of the first film. That’s sort of a fair statement.

Sort of.

While, formula-wise, this film is nearly the same as the first film, I would argue that, because we know this trio so well now, their personalities, choices and motivations all help lead us (and them) into all new, all ridiculous situations. Plus, while the first film dug deep into the stereotypes of a night in Vegas, a stereotypical Thailand experience is incredibly different and the situations one can find themselves in are … shall we say, a little more compromising. Lost fingers, tattoos, strippers and bad choices are just the beginning.

Anyway, “The Hangover Part II” is a perfect retreat for adults this weekend at the movies. Foul in language, full of raunchiness and flipping out in fun, this film will get your funny bone working over time. Be prepared for seeing things that you may not want to see, and possibly being shocked in ways that will overtake the water cooler conversations after the long holiday weekend. Just make sure you leave the kiddies at home.

4 out of 5 Wheel-Chaired Monks Starting a Riot

Several years ago … in 2008 to be exact … movie masses were introduced to the ultimate kung fu fanboy - Po, a portly panda imagining warrior glory in between serving up soup and noodles at the family restaurant. Voiced by the, at times highly annoying, but always humorous Jack Black, Po came to animated life right before our eyes and by the end, audiences did not only know that he was in fact the legendary Dragon Warrior, that in fact he could go toe to toe with the famed Furious Five and that, in fact he could save the Valley of Peace, but also that he was a fantastic character with the heart of a lion.

Fast forward to … well … now and fans will once again be able to live out their dreams with Po in the delightful "Kung Fu Panda 2."

The story is heartwarmingly simple. Po's past and origins are brought into question when an old enemy - Lord Shen - a spoiled, hate-mongering peacock - reemerges to reclaim his throne and threaten complete domination over China. With the aid of his five companions, Tiger (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Crane (David Cross) and Viper (Lucy Liu), Po will use all his Kung Fu training, and maybe a few new techniques, to try and defeat this strangely familiar enemy while seeking the answer to the hardest question of all … "where do I come from?"

Gorgeously animated with slick movement, excellent textures and high-powered action, "Kung Fu Panda 2" is an amazingly tender and surprisingly worthy sequel that in a big way proves to be better than the original. As a character, Po still uses the obvious fat jokes to grab a quick laugh, but as the story moves forward, what you also get is a soft look at a boy seeking the truth about his family. Taking a deeper look at the pandas adoption by loving foster father Mr. Ping (James Hong) and their relationship, the film loosens it's comedic base and quickly transcends the basic animated fun flick into much deeper film focus. At the same time, by reaching back into Po's unfortunate history, the filmmakers were able to turn the bubbling buffoon into a character that is wonderfully rounded out and worth much more than meets the eye.

Seriously folks, while staying kid-friendly, director Jennifer Yuh and writers Jonathon Aibel and Glenn Berger have crafted a very mature story that connects the always fragile family dynamic by intertwining the tales of two creatures looking for their correct place in the world without their parents.

Actor-wise, this film is brimming with quality talent. From Gary Oldman's menacingly fun turn as the evil and confused Lord Shen to the cool inclusion of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dennis Haysbert as two new martial arts masters, this film has it all. But, that may be a bad thing. While all the characters play an important role at some point in the story, honestly, there are just too many of them. Lucy Lui, Jackie Chan and David Cross barely have any lines and unfortunately spend most of their time as background elements or basic props for Po to use in his quest. Of all the Five from the first film, Jolie's Tigress is the only other character that really gets quality time and luckily she proves to be more than just a basic live-for-training kind of a gal. This over-filled cast of characters makes the film seem so full that at times its hard to really focus and in the end, prove that some of these characters while neat, are just a little unnecessary.

But of course that's just being nit-picky. As stated earlier, this film is gorgeous to behold and, even though they made me watch it in 3D (and everyone knows how I feel about 3D) I still enjoyed every frame. Three different animation styes are utilized to tell this heroic story and all three, at times blend beautifully into one another helping delineate and subtly help the audience follow the diverging paths of the storyline. Clearly the watchful eye of visionary director and here executive producer Guilermo del Toro has helped set the stage and by the end, you are simply mesmerized by the ballet of light, color and movement that the animators have produced on the screen.

As a parent, I will say that my three year-old, Maya was frightened by the henchman wolves that appear throughout the film. Also, remember how I mentioned that the film stayed kid friendly even with the mature themes? Yeah well, the fate of Po's biological family is told and quickly my little lady was firing questions to me about what happened and why. Just be prepared … but don't let that stop you from enjoying this film with your little ones.

Possibly a little long for the younger audience members and filled too high with characters are just two minor gripes that should not stop anyone from enjoying this film. By rounding out the character and exploring the family dynamics of adoption and the foster family, "Kung Fu Panda 2" kicks new life into it's own franchise and transcends audience expectations. Solid action, silliness for the kids and classic comedy help shape a wonderfully warm family film that is only outdone by the excellent animation that it is built within. For a quality, family outing this holiday weekend, don't miss this film.

4 out of 5 Radishes