“Brave” (2012): Pixar Safely Succeeds ★★★

……Forget plot or characters, all a trailer for a Pixar film has to do is mention, “From the studio that brought you Finding Nemo, Toy Story 3, and WALL-E…” and I’m 100% sold. Doesn’t that seem to be the case with you too? How could it not? After a handful of Academy Awards and nine $200 million grossing films, Pixar is an animated powerhouse in every sense of the word, a rare studio who has crafted just as many popular hits as they have timeless classics. So while I may have had some reservations about their latest release, Brave, a Scottish fairy tale with the studio’s first female protagonist, all hesitations were quickly put to rest when the film began. Though Pixar may have stumbled last year with the mediocre Cars 2, Brave is a fine return to form – it’s an entertaining, rousing, and gorgeously animated adventure, albeit an unusually safe one from the imaginatively creative minds at Pixar.

PIXAR: Ranking the Animated Powerhouse’s 12 Films

……To say that I have an unadulterated love for Pixar is nothing really unique or special, for don’t we all have an obsession with the animated powerhouse? Through just 12 films, Pixar has become one of the most dominative movie studios in the world; not only have their movies earned an average worldwide gross of $600 million dollars, but Pixar has also won 26 Academy Awards and 7 Golden Globes and has made three movies that have placed in the 50 highest grossing films of all time. Wow, if that’s not success, I’m not sure what is! By combining a childhood sense of joy and imagination with an adult sense of drama and heart, Pixar has made hit after hit and, for the most part, classic after classic that can be loved by every gender and every age. Today, the animated studio releases its 13^th feature film, Brave, and in honor of their latest release, here is my ranking of every Pixar film from least favorite to most cherished:

SHARF @ THE TV: 2 Must-See Shows That Rival The Big Three

……If there’s one thing that’s clear about the entertainment industry, it’s that television is the new movies. Between the abundance of sequels, prequels, reboots, and adaptations and extremely expensive ticket prices (which only get higher thanks to 3D), a mass exodus is occurring as audiences flock from cinemas (audience attendance and ticket purchases are at an all time low) and head home, sit on their couches, and watch television. Thanks to the rise of cable networks like AMC, Showtime, HBO, FX, and more, TV seems to be the only place nowadays where one can find original, character-driven stories, and from The Walking Dead to Louis, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, The Killing, and many more, television attracts enthusiastic word-of-mouth that movies just can’t seem to find these days (aside from behemoth tentpoles like The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises).

Father’s Day: 4 Craig Sharf Approved Films

……If you’ve been keeping up with my blog from the beginning, I may sound like a broken record when I state that my dad and the movies have always gone hand in hand. Be it picking through summer blockbusters or narrowing down the must-see films come Oscar season, my dad has long been a proponent of my goal to be a film critic, and when he stumbled home from work last Monday afternoon only to greet me with, “Hey, take my card and get Dark Knight Rises tickets now!!!!” all I could think was: my dad’s pretty cool. Ironically, that statement was surpassed only minutes later when he demanded to see the film in IMAX as opposed to saving some money and catching it on a regular screen – forget pretty cool, Craig Sharf is awesome! With Father’s Day upon us, it couldn’t be more appropriate to celebrate by watching some films with incredible movie dads; however, if none of those float your boat, then why not listen to my own father, Craig Sharf, and watch any of these 4 favorites of his, they’re equally as awesome as he is:

“Prometheus” (2012): Great To Look At, Hard To Process ★★½

……In 1979, director Ridley Scott stunned the world with Alien, a true masterpiece that not only proved that a strong, female heroine could carry a major motion picture (Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley), but also that when done correctly, science fiction could be a pseudo-blend of action, adventure, drama, and terrifying horror all at the same time. Between that film and Blade Runner (1982), Scott has crafted two of the most audacious science fiction films of all time, and after a lengthy three decade absence, Scott has finally returned to the genre that made him a cinematic legend in Prometheus, an enthralling yet ambiguously mythic new film that shares the same universe as Alien (to settle the debate – yes, it’s pretty much a prequel). However, does Prometheus give Scott a sci-fi hat trick worth lauding? Though it has spectacular 3D visuals and some strong performances, like many of this year’s films, Prometheus suffers greatly from an incoherent script that asks too many questions without enough answers or wonder to support them.

Charlize Theron: When Great Beauty Meets Great Talent

……If there’s one thing I love most about the 2012 summer movie season, it’s that June brings us a double dose of Charlize Theron, one of Hollywood’s most beautiful and brilliant actresses. What’s even better is that Theron is gracing the screen in back-to-back blockbusters that open only a week apart from one another – Snow White and the Huntsman (in theatres now) and the highly anticipated Prometheus (out Friday). From her breakout role in The Cider House Rules, to her Oscar savvy turns in Monster and North Country, to her TV guest spot on the exceptional Arrested Development, Charlize Theron has proven herself to be a versatile powerhouse, a rare actress whose stunning beauty equals her exceptional talent. While her seductive eyes and graceful looks make her an actress that’s easy to watch, it’s Theron’s powerful screen presence and ability to engage the viewer that make her such a modern legend. Like Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, and Katharine Hepburn before her, Charlize Theron is yet another gorgeous actress with incredible talent to spare, and with two movies kicking off June in high style, I couldn’t be happier.

“Snow White and the Huntsman” (2012): A Visually Stunning Poison Apple ★★½

……Three months after the cheeky, Julia Roberts-starring Mirror Mirror bombed at the box office, Snow White, the Evil Queen, and the dwarves all returned to theatres this weekend in another telling of the Snow White legend, albeit much darker and more brutal in Snow White and the Huntsman. Whereas Mirror Mirror was all bright colors and fluff, SWATH is a bleak and darkly revisionist approach to the Brothers Grimm story that was made famous by the 1937 Disney animated classic. With clever nods to the original, SWATH clearly knows the material its dealing with, and by darkening the story with plenty Lord of the Rings-esque battles and fantasy sequences, the filmmakers are desperately trying to turn this event picture into an all-gender-encompassing epic. After opening to a better than expected $56 million this weekend, it seems the action packed approach to the fairy tale has paid off economically, but is this second Snow White film of 2012 really the fairest of them all? Visually, yes, but emotionally, not quite.

June Movie Preview

……After an incredible start to the box office year in the winter and spring, the summer movie season opened to average results in May. While Marvel’s The Avengers kicked off the season with a bang thanks to its record $207 million opening and $100+ million second weekend, the second half of May was somewhat of a disappointment as tentpole pictures Dark Shadows and Battleship failed to make much of an impression. Though Men in Black 3 performed solidly over the Memorial Day Weekend, its $69 million four-day opening was nothing to brag over. With June finally upon us, it seems there are more solid hits than breakout blockbusters on deck, but that’s exactly what the box office may need to remain strong as the summer season rolls on. To see what the month of June has in store, let’s breakdown the month by weekend:

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