It's not often that we see Disney correct it's mistakes, but Togo seems to be made just to do that.  Personally I've never seen Balto so I cannot attest to its inaccuracies, but Togo certainly pushes the fact that it is a correction of a mistold story.  Disney's new live-action film is a grand retelling of the 1925 Serum Run, with vast mountain landscapes and well-trained dogs to lead the cast.  If the dogs don't sell you on this movie, Willem Dafoe's (Spider-Man, The Florida Project, The Grand Budapest Hotel) performance is just another outstanding display of his epic career in acting.  Dafoe transforms into Leonhard Seppala, a musher trying to save his townspeople from a disease.  

The story of the event is pretty simple, but Ericson Core's (Point Break) direction along with Tom Flynn's (Gifted) screenplay make it intricate.  Core delicately travels around in time with flashbacks that keep the viewer engaged.  We get to see the lead sled dog's upbringing and I cannot imagine anyone complaining that the dog gets a large amount of screentime.  Most of the story revolves around Togo's upbringing and Seppala's relationship to the dog.  There are heartwarming moments, but also moments that really make the viewer think about how we treat and understand pets.  

The most praiseworthy aspect of this film is the cinematography.  Vast mountainscapes and blizzard-like conditions add an element of risk to the story.  Core is no stranger to cinematography and that is apparent as this movie is very well done.  I found myself gasping amidst the clear power of nature, with scenes of the dog sled team crossing an ice-capped lake that was sure to break.  Nature is an extremely valuable asset in filmmaking and Togo proves that from the start.  The adventure is daring and the film flies by without a moment for the filmgoer to ever feel relaxed.

The Bottom Line: With Disney's correction to Balto, Togo brings out the best of nature's connection with humans and expands on the discussion of human relations with animals in a dramatic retelling of a true story.

Score: 7.5/10

Image credit: ​By User:Wynford Morris - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33449859

Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Frances Ha) returns to Netflix with this heart-wrenching drama revolving around a couple going through the process of a divorce.  This film is a horror romance, not because it is scary or creepy, but merely because it shows the real-life consequences of marriage.  Marriage Story displays the fragility of love and the effects it can have on even the happiest couple.  Adam Driver (Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Paterson, Inside Llewyn Davis) and Scarlett Johansson (Her, Lost in Translation, The Avengers) lead the cast as a seemingly happy couple, but divorce leads the couple to make choices that they did not foresee happening in their relationship.

At times, the film is hard to watch and tears at the moviegoer's heartstrings.  When the project was first announced, I was a bit concerned that Johansson and Driver were an odd choice to play the lead roles.  Yet, their chemistry cannot be denied and it is hard to picture any other actors playing these roles after viewing the film.  Baumbach clearly knows how to cast a film and this may be his best project to date.  Definitely look out for the multiple Oscar nominations that this film will get.  I'm not one to cry often during a film, but it was sure hard to hold back the tears during this one.  The film has the best scene between two characters that I have seen in quite a while.  Leaving out too much detail, there is a major climax in the film between the married couple, that builds more and more with intensity leading to a payoff that will leave the viewer heartbroken.

The film is subtle to create a realistic story, but the implications are nonetheless concerning.  Randy Newman's (Toy Story, Meet the Parents) original soundtrack creates a nice background for the onscreen dialogue.  The soundtrack has nice piano melodies that play off of the subtle environment and act as a more classical soundtrack. 

Baumbach's script is so real.  He is able to create slight comedy in a script riddled with wrenching emotion.  He can take a cast of well-known actors without giving any of them a sense of entitlement.  This film is NOT a blockbuster, but has the intensity of one.  As one of the best films of the year, I am quite excited to see how it will perform at the awards ceremonies.  Baumbach is no stranger to nominations, but this year has a very bloated field of great films so it will be tough to pick which actors and films will win it all.

The Bottom Line: Marriage Story is subtle, but heartbreaking nonetheless with a professional cast that carries the film to the next level.

Score: 9.4/10

Image Credit: ​By Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59740186

After rewatching Frozen, I realized that the film as a whole was far from perfect.  With endless plot holes, a basic pop soundtrack, and a familiar story, it was hard to appreciate the original film.  I recall liking it the first time, but maybe it was just catchy and really stuck in my head for the months following.  While Frozen 2 still has a lack of needed explanation for certain plot lines, it is a definite step up from the first film.  This is already a contested opinion between fans young and old, but I stand by it for the following reason...

To start, the music in the sequel holds more weight.  Children may not like every song as much as they did for the original film since none of the tunes have stuck as much as "Let It Go".  The break-out song of this film was marketed to be "Into the Unknown", which is not the most creative song on the soundtrack, but still seems craftier than "Let It Go".  Kids might struggle to catch on to the melody, but the lyrics are more fulfilling and Idina Menzel's (Enchanted​) voice carries it quite well.  Her voice truly defies gravity and is such a treasure to the listener.  Along with the new hit, audiences can enjoy a cheesier song from Olaf and a hard-hitting love ballad from Kristoff.  Olaf's song is similar to his debut in Frozen, but Kristoff brings older viewers the nostalgia of artists like Meatloaf or REO Speedwagon.  It's a fun and intentionally ridiculous 80s tribute.  These songs are a treat for adults and kids alike.

Furthermore, the voice work and script for this follow-up are more exciting and creative.  While Olaf did not have too many lines in the original film and still annoyed me, it appears he has more lines in the sequel but never comes off as overly annoying.  Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter), and Josh Gad (Beauty and the Beast, 21) round out the cast again with a few extra voice actors in minor roles.  Menzel and Bell voice the young sisters so fittingly.  Gad plays a slightly more matured Olaf, but still sounds like a curious snowchild.  The big breakout for me with this film was Groff's ability to sing.  I'm a big fan of Mindhunter and Groff's character in the Netflix show is so different from Kristoff; it took me a while to realize they are played by the same person.  I can see this ensemble making a few more films together if everyone stays aboard the wintery franchise.

While I do like the sequel more than the original, there are a few choices that are flawed and leave the viewer pondering.  A couple of the things that were left unexplained in the first film are brought back and explained in this film, but this film has characters choose certain paths that are unnatural.  At one point, a main character (trying to avoid spoilers still) makes a choice that contradicts everything the film sets up.  It left me scratching my head and wondering if they just couldn't figure out a better way to progress the plot.  I still give praise to this plot for being more original than the first film, with no real villain for the sisters to face off with.  This is more about character development than it is about a battle at the end, creating a refreshing story for Disney.

I would go amiss without mentioning the visual effects.  I saw the film in Laser IMAX and it was totally worth the big screen experience.  The ice shimmers across the screen and while there is not a lot of real action sequences, there are quite a few moments where the beautiful landscape shines bright with the reflecting snowy overlay.  There was one point where the pine trees looked so realistic that I had to do a double-take and look away from the screen for a minute.  It truly is amazing what modern technology has done for artists and animation studios.  

The Bottom Line: This darker sequel progresses the characters that kids and adults already love, but has flaws that are left unexplained and contradictory.

Score: 7/10