Wreck-It Ralph

I had been seeing quite a bit of promotional stuff about this movie for a while now and for the most part I didn't think much of it. I thought it'd be a movie with a couple of game references and that'd be the extent of it. But I'd be remiss to have just ignored this movie as just another Disney cartoon.

And for the record, I've enjoyed my fair share of Disney animation in my time.

What I didn't expect to find here was something that had as much heart as it did. I liked the theme of changing your fate and not always having to stick to what seems to be a predetermined destiny. Why should you stay the course? Why must you be a "bad guy"? Why can't there be more to life then that? Surely the flow of events has been seen before, with the "bad guy" (Ralph) looking to change his fortunes by any means.  He meets up with someone that changes his life (Vanellope) and that brings a whole different perspective for Ralph. He screws up, girl gets mad, Ralph sees the error of his ways and saves the day.

Well that is generally the story of the movie in a nutshell, but there is so much more to it than that.

What was cool to me was the story, while focused on Ralph and Vanellope, also focuses on other characters and how they change over the course of the story. I guess what I am trying to say is the characters show progression, it isn't just "this is the way we are and this is the way we stay." There is more to them and it shows on screen and I love this movie for that.

Forgive me if that is all a little vague, but I am very rusty at this stuff at the present. But if you've gathered nothing else from this writing, please understand this much: I really enjoyed this movie! And while I may be easy to entertain, I am not easy to leave a lasting impression on. This movie accomplished that, perhaps more so then the last Disney movie I watched in theaters (Brave).

One More Time

Despite what I had previously posted, here I am yet again with a few thoughts to share to probably no one in particular. Still, I've not written (typed) all that much in ages and I feel that 'itch' to write, share and just clear my mind a little bit.

It really has been far too long...

In the time away, I've gotten back into comics quite a bit and maybe even more so now then ever before. With that said, I've been loosely following the Avengers vs X-Men storyline, just staying with it kind of enough to know what was going on (I am tempted to pick up the collected edition). But the stuff that has been coming up since that story ended has really caught my interest.

Above all, is the pending story of the original 5 X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast and Angel) coming to the present day storyline and facing the world after the events of AvX. More shocking I think is the idea that Cyclops has changed so much since their younger years and since the events of AvX, that change has really taken a new twist for the worst (depending on how you look at it). On top of this, Jean in the present time is still dead. I'm sure that will be a shock to the system...

Aside from that, I've been picking up into the new stuff in the Marvel NOW series. Deadpool seems to have a decent story, fitting and absurd as ever. I mean fighting and killing former dead presidents? That is pretty outlandish, but fitting for a babbling maniac such as Deadpool. I'm also liking Iron Man and Thor also, which is all new to me because I've never really ventured away from the X-Universe. Beyond those, I am looking forward to reading the new stuff for the Fantastic Four, Captain America and the Indestructible Hulk. All of those seem to have interest stories to tell.