Reviews

This film is really quite good and will probably develop a bit of a cult status among animated films. It's one of those unfortunate films that was declared dead before it was even given a chance to shine in theaters and as a result was poorly marketed and thrust into a unknowing world. Really I think the film would have done better released Valentine's Day weekend since the films main theme is love, a fact I'm certain you would not have guessed from viewing the poorly edited trailers. This film is also a musical, another thing the trailers failed to mention, and does a pretty decent job on the soundtrack. However if you're going into this film without knowing the prior too facts you are probably going to be a bit jarred by how it just leaps into them. The characters (even the sidekicks) are all pretty likable, and no one is particularly annoying save for maybe one character who doesn't get a lot of screen time. There are plenty of good jokes and a little a cheesiness (the good kind). Is everyone going to like it? No, it's definitely not going to sit well with people who hate musicals and a little sappiness, but overall it's a pretty likable movie that isn't anywhere near deserving the amount of hate that it is getting. If you have a chance to see it I recommend giving it a shot.

I remember renting and re-watching all of the VHS movies before I even went near the theater to see this one. Yes people the movie is bad and cheesy and whatever else you'll make of it, but many seem to forget that is exactly what we have always loved about these films. This addition does not ruin the series at all it just adds on a slightly prettier addition to the wonderfully awful movies we have always enjoyed. The acting is decent and the action is fun so take a moment and remember that these movies were never as splendid as they are in our hearts. Just try to enjoy the movie and stop fighting it because of its style.

After seeing this film I was more than a little disgusted to see so many negative reviews. The main problem with this film I find is in the first 20-30 minutes, a common problem I spy in Luhrman films that should by no means define an entire film. Giving away nothing the film begins at a brisk and overly flamboyant pace but after a bit it hits what I like to call "Baz's golden point", slows to absolute perfection. That first half hour will leave more than a few shaking their heads, but power through it and you will find The Great Gatsby in all its glory. Luhrman stays as true to the source as he can and Dicaprio gives yet another glorious performance. If I'm going to be honest I think a lot of the negative reviews coming in are due to the "classic" status of the book, people want to act like the hours of school discussions should make this film less fanciful and serious 100 percent of the time. Thing is we have that version twice over in the 1974 & 2000 adaption. Gatsby 2013 is beautiful, over the top, heart wrenching, and thoroughly enjoyable flick that I shall always highly recommend.

I have always preferred American Dad over MacFarlane's other great work in Family Guy, mainly because this show can go where Family Guy can not. Family Guy is the more popular of the two shows and has to keep a consistent take on itself, where as American Dad is free to experiment with more interesting ideas. This episode displays this perfectly with its imaginative setting, well timed action, and mind blowing score. I can not bring myself to describe the plot beyond "Jeff is on an alien slave ship" because I feel that it might ruin the full impact of the episode for anyone else. Jeff is a character I never really even liked on the show before this episode, he was just that generic idealist, and I was happy to see him abducted a few episodes back. Now I think he may have become my favorite character on the show. In this episode his ideals become more fleshed out and transform into a beacon of hope in the dismal ship he is on. The highlight of the episode for me however is the song "Majestic" by Wax Fang, the scene in which it appears is probably one of the best animated and gorgeous scenes that I have seen on any of MacFarlane's shows and the episode is worth seeing for the song alone. Trust me people if you watch only one episode from this show watch this one for it is beautiful, and who knows it may lead to one of MacFarlane's best spin offs ever.