Fish and Cherries Productions

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is indescribably good. The first one was a hard contender with Toy Story 3 for best animated film of the year at their time and the sequel improves on everything significantly. All of the characters, even the minor ones, still have very distinct personalities, the animation is still beautiful, the flying scenes are still breathtaking, and there were some very emotional scenes that definitely hit harder than the ones in its predecessor. The ending seemed like a bit of a deus ex machina to me, but it was still within reason. Oddly enough, the thing that always impressed me the most about these movies is how they did the hair, as that is often the hardest thing to animate. But in this series, every single one is given a lot of detailed work and legitimately looks real. Overall, this is definitely a must-see. Here’s hoping that this one takes the Oscar home.

This Is The End is a movie that really shouldn’t have worked, yet had me doubled over laughing for the entire film. The idea of a bunch of Hollywood actors playing exaggerated versions of themselves as a band of survivors in the Biblical Apocalypse sounds like something that should fall flat on its face, but it surprisingly carries the whole way through, in part because the actors look like they’re having a ball making it. To say more would risk spoiling some hilarious scenes, so I’ll give you some brief non-spoiler comedic highlights: Jonah Hill’s shtick as the nicest guy in the world, Jason Siegel lampooning his own role on How I Met Your Mother, Michael Cera as an unapologetic sex and cocaine addict, anything that Craig Robinson does, the fake trailer for Pineapple Express 2, and EVERYTHING involving Emma Watson. So if you’re into getting some unapologetically raunchy and ridiculous comedy with a surprising amount of heart, catch it in theaters while you can. That said, approach with caution if you’re allergic to the Backstreet Boys because you’ll have that stuck in your head after you’re done.