Finding Dory ***

Dir:  Andrew Stanton & Angus MacLane

Starring: (voices of) Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O’Neill, Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Idris Elba, Sigourney Weaver, Eugene Levy

Dory, the forgetful Pacific regal blue tang from Finding Nemo (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) is back with the sequel to the 2003 animated blockbuster from Pixar Studios. Also along for the new adventure are the young clownfish Nemo (Hayden Rolence) himself and his
fretful dad, Marlin (Albert Brooks). This time around Dory is on a quest to find her long lost parents (Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy) after a bump on her head jogs her memory somewhat. Along the way she meets characters like the grouchy octopus, the scene-stealing Hank (Ed O’Neill), Baily, a beluga whale (Ty Burrell), Destiny, a myopic whale shark (Kaitlin Olson), and a couple of rock squatting seals (Idris Elba and Dominic West).

Dory is entertaining enough mostly but does become repetitive in parts as well as recalling its predecessor on a number of occasions. Of course, there is the obligatory (by now) Pixar mix of message ("trust your feelings, believe in yourself") and emotion ("home is where family is") which does work but it also doesn’t achieve the heights scaled by Up or the Toy Story movies. The rousing climax is both fun and too far-fetched (which, I know, is all relative since we are talking about talking fish here). The animation and voice work are both excellent, of course.

Cut to chase: Entertaining enough but not one of Pixar’s best.

 

10 Cloverfield Lane***

Dir:  Dan Trachtenberg

Starring: Starring John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Gallagher Jr.

Adapted from the novel by David Ebershoff, a fictionalised account of the lives of Lili Elbe/Einar Wegener and Gerde Wegener.

10 Cloverfield Lane is a small-scale but tense little thriller from J.J. Abrams’ production house which could (or could not) be a sequel to the sci-fi alien invasion shaky-cam filmed surprise hit, Cloverfield that came out in 2008 decade. To find out the true nature of the film you’ll have to see it.

When Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) wakes up after a car accident, a young woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), she finds herself in a bunker with Howard (John Goodman) who tells her that it is not safe for her to go outside as the world is now uninhabitable after a chemical attack (by aliens?). So is Howard telling the truth or is he just a sexual predator? Like I said, you’ll have to watch the movie to find out.

10 Cloverfield Lane does offer enough twists and turns to keep you watching and the lead performances are both pretty good.

Cut to chase: Surprising and suspenseful.

Kmumtaz1@hotmail.com; Twitter: @KhusroMumtaz