Google+ Cinema Viewfinder: Movie Review: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) Thursday, September 26, 2013 Movie Review: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) by Tony Dayoub Be assured, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is definitely better than the first. That being said, this is not a major accomplishment since the first movie was a major slog to get through. With a color palette that ranged from day-glo to rainbow-tastic and rubber-band-shaped characters with malleable, indistinct personalities to match, it was a forgettable movie where scientist Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) was forced to sabotage his own invention-gone-wild after it starts creating gigantic food-based weather issues for his island town, Swallow Falls. Overlong and predictable, it was a dull affair even for pint-sized animated film fans. In this respect, Cloudy 2 is a success; the kids at the screening I attended (including my own) were engaged throughout, as were a good number of the adults. Some time after the events in the first Cloudy, Lockwood and his friends must return to clean up the mess in Swallow Falls under the "benevolent" guidance of the vaguely sinister scientific guru, Chester V (Will Forte). Lockwood's device, the FLDSMDFR, has begun creating living "foodimals." These clever amalgams are the source of the movie's most amusing elements—hippotatomuses, shrimpanzees, peanut butter and jellyfishes, flamangos, cantelopes, the terrifying tacodile supreme, and more—all serving as nicely textured background for what is again a fairly typical tale of the once lonely Lockwood learning to trust his new friends. As imaginative as the flora and fauna appear to be, the rest of the movie's pedestrian aesthetic adds to a general sense of uninspired familiarity. A scene in which the group must contend with a stampeding flock of bananostriches is an obvious homage to Jurassic Park, an innocuous tribute that nonetheless contributes to the feeling that there's nothing new here. Still, Cloudy with a Chance at Meatballs 2 is aimed at younger moviegoers, and the film shall feel new to them. As for any of you parents accompanying them, make sure to drink plenty of coffee before the show. Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest Labels: Andy Samberg, animated, Anna Faris, Benjamin Bratt, Bill Hader, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Film Review, James Caan, Kristen Schaal, Neil Patrick Harris, Terry Crews, Will Forte No comments: Post a Comment Newer Post Older Post Home Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Subscribe To Posts Atom Posts Comments Atom Comments Search This Blog Last 10 Films I Watched The Godfather (1972), Francis Ford Coppola What Just Happened (2008), Barry Levinson The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), Joel Coen The Power of the Dog (2021), Jane Campion Nightmare Alley (2021), Guillermo del Toro Death on the Nile (2022), Kenneth Branagh Vera Cruz (1954), Robert Aldrich Absentia (2011), Mike Flanagan Uncut Gems (2019), Benny & Josh Safdie Clockers (1995), Spike Lee Tweets by @TonyDayoub About Me Tony Dayoub View my complete profile Followers Blog Archive ► 2022 (1) ► March (1) ► 2021 (1) ► March (1) ► 2020 (1) ► February (1) ► 2019 (2) ► July (1) ► February (1) ► 2018 (1) ► February (1) ► 2017 (4) ► October (1) ► July (1) ► February (1) ► January (1) ► 2016 (4) ► December (1) ► August (1) ► July (1) ► March (1) ► 2015 (17) ► December (1) ► November (1) ► October (4) ► September (2) ► August (1) ► July (3) ► June (1) ► May (2) ► April (1) ► February (1) ► 2014 (101) ► December (2) ► November (5) ► October (14) ► September (8) ► August (12) ► July (10) ► June (8) ► May (11) ► April (8) ► March (9) ► February (7) ► January (7) ▼ 2013 (104) ► December (9) ► November (5) ► October (16) ▼ September (11) Movie Review: Rush (2013) Movie Review: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 ... 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