Matthew Turner

22 May 2012

Lively, enjoyable and frequently funny adventure that soars thanks to a witty script, delightful animation, a couple of great songs and the inspired casting of Jesse Eisenberg and Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement.

ji-ecenzhao

22 May 2012

Fun for the whole family; very cute movie

This movie is fun for the whole family, and very cute. It's reallyawesome to see the two blue macaws' relationship grow throughout themovie. The animation is top notch, and my kids really enjoyed watchingthe movie. Although there are adult jokes scattered about the movie,the kids will not get any of them. This movie is crying for a sequel,and I genuinely believe that a sequel should be written for this movie.Personal rating: 9.5/10 MUST WATCHVideo: Top notch, vivid color animationMusic is very fitting, and the voices for Blu and Jewel were perfectlydone.

moviexclusive

20 May 2012

Bursting with infectious energy and verve from music to colour to spectacle, this is one heck of a party you'd be a cuckoo to miss!

The makers of "Ice Age" have decided to take a vacation from the coldand literally venture into warmer- much warmer- territory. Indeed,after three consecutive outings through sub-zero temperatures, directorCarlos Saldanha has set his sights on the tropical city of Rio deJaneiro- also the second largest city of Brazil- where summertemperatures often hit a sizzling 40 °C. And what a wondrous source ofinspiration this sojourn has been for the Brazilian-born Saldanha,whose "Rio" bursts forth from the screen with unparalleled colour,imagination and sheer energy. Saldanha wants you to know that he is in Rio to have a party, so rightfrom the beginning, all manner of feathered creatures of differentsizes, colours and species welcome a new dawn in the lush tropicalrainforest with a boisterous acrobatic sequence, set to the infectiousbeat of the legendary Sergio Mendes (who serves as executive musicproducer here). Among the greenery is the birthplace of ourprotagonist, Blu (Jesse Eisenberg), an exotic blue macaw who issubsequently taken out of his nest and domesticated by a local bookshopowner Linda (Leslie Mann) in the snowy Minnesota town of Moose Lake. A visiting ornithologist from Rio, Tulio, offers a quick and convenientexcuse for Blu to return to his native land- the last male of hisspecies, he is needed to mate with a feisty female called Jewel (AnneHathaway) for the continuity of his kind. Jewel, on the other hand, isonly intent on escaping her captivity, but things get complicated whenshe and Blu are abducted from Tulio's lab by smugglers and chained toeach other. By sheer luck and some ingenuity, they manage to escape,and spend the rest of the time trying to cut themselves free from eachother, while evading capture by the bad guys and their evil cockatooNigel (Flight of the Conchords' Jermaine Clement). Staying true to formula, Blu and Jewel will bicker like the typicalmismatched couple at the beginning, only to fall in love with eachother by the end. Predictable though the journey may be, veteranscreenwriter Don Rhymer makes the journey a pure delight every step ofthe way with great supporting characters, witty lines and hilariousscenarios. Not often do we find all three in equal measure within amovie, but "Rio" is a perfect example of the laugh-out-loud hilaritythat ensues when these three elements come together so beautifully.A tram ride up the slopes of Rio is turned into a matchmakingopportunity by Blu and Jewel's three travel companions- a Toucan namedRafael (George Lopez) and two wisecracking birds Pedro and Nico(will.i.am and Jamie Foxx)- as Rafael dispenses love advice to Bluwhile Pedro strums across the wires of a tram like a guitar and Nicocroons a romantic tune. "Tell her you have beautiful eyes!" Rafaelwhispers to Blu, to which Blu turns to Jewel and says "Did you knowthat I have beautiful eyes?"Rhymer also saves some of the best lines of the movie for Nigel. Anuproarious song-and-dance item where he gets to introduce the depth ofhis villainy to his audience sees him prancing pompously around cagedbirds cowering in their cages singing lines like "like an abandonedschool, I have no principal". And when recruiting a bunch of thievingmonkeys as his henchmen to search for Blu and Jewel, Nigel warns themin a dead-serious tone, "no more monkey business". Of course, these lines are only as good as the voice cast deliveringthem, and thankfully then, the cast Saldanha has assembled here isoutstanding. Eisenberg oozes apprehension and trepidation with everyline as the cowardly dork, Hathaway packs gusto as the spunky foilagainst Eisenberg, will.i.am and Foxx have perfect comic timing playingoff each other's lines, and Clement chews up his great one-liners withmenacing glee (you may be keen to know that he also co-wrote the song"Pretty Bird" above). Their chemistry is palpable from start to finish,and their exchanges throughout the film are nothing less than spiritedand lively. But a lot of the energy in "Rio" is visual, courtesy of Saldanha's eyefor detail and aptitude for action. The animation of each one of thecharacters, lead or supporting or even extra, is exceptional, theirrespective characteristics distinctive and inspired. The colours-unlike the duller, wintry landscapes of "Ice Age"- are dazzling andvibrant. And most of all, the action sequences best appreciated in 3D-a flight over Rio with a panoramic view of Guanbara Bay, a narrowescape over the rooftops of the favelas, and the climactic finalethrough the crowds at the city's annual Carnivale festival- explodewith vigour and verve reminiscent of that in the city's signature sambamusic, whose Latin rhythms add generously to the film's oomph. That oomph is simply part of the party that Saldanha invites you to bepart of from beginning to end, and "Rio" has every bit of theinfectious sounds of the drumbeats, the colours of the sequins,feathers and headdresses, and the energy of the performers in thecity's most famous annual party festival. Yes, for those of us whoprobably can't afford to take that Singapore Airlines flight down toBrazil, this is the closest you'll get to soak in the sights and soundsof that lively city. The best part of it all? It's a party the wholefamily will enjoy.

Armando Garcia

20 May 2012

why i dont listen to critics!

rio is a very fun movie for the whole family. my 2 year old was very entertained along with my 10 year old daughter. the whole movie theater was laughing and clapping at the end which is a tall tale sign that they loved the movie! why waste your time on listening to a critic who's review is based on how much he is paid and listen to the people who know what they want to see!

Joshua Starnes

19 May 2012

It's only real downfall is its lack of ambition to be more than decent. Saldanha has also been unerringly safe in most of his story telling choices, with little unexpected character development and quite a bit of overly tidy moralizing.

19 May 2012

Amazing Movie Don't Pay Attention To Bad Reviews

I just saw this movie yesterday, despite the bad reviews ive seen i totally loved the movie.Goods: Amazing Animation Great Storyline It had wil.i.am and jamie fox in it DUH 5hrs later... blah blah blah Another 5hrs later blah blah blahBads: I DIDNT WANT IT TO END :P

19 May 2012

Great Movie...Family Favorite

This review is from: Rio (Blu-ray/ DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) Rio is a fun movie that the entire family will enjoy. We are glad that we purchased the blu-ray edition over the dvd. The Blu-Ray picture quality is amazing.

18 May 2012

Rio

Fun, animated, hilarious and touching-Rio is a movie you'll never forget.It starts with Blu. Blu is very rare macaw living in America. He's never been to his home land after birth, he's never really seen other birds and that's right-he doesn't even know how to fly. When a renowned ornithologist asks that Blu be brought to Brazil to repopulate his kind with the last female, his owner is very hesitant. Finally, she agrees and Blu finds himself in a whole new world. But Jewel, his female counterpart is not exactly what he expected. And the two of them don't exactly see eye to eye. When they are suddenly snatched up in the middle of the night-they have to work together to get back. It's one wild adventure after another as Blu finds himself doing things he never imagined he would.The movie was a lot better than I think any of us expected. It had good moral while not being boring. It was touching and I enjoyed it and so did the kids-this truly is a movie for all ages.

alex_serious

13 May 2012

Went to Rio and loved it.

And BAM! Suddenly, singing and dancing. Rio explodes into life in theopening scene and sets the tone for the rest of the movie. An easygoing adventure with fun and random musical numbers and breath-takingscenery.However, it isn't all sun and sand. Jesse Eisenberg and his character"Blu" will annoy you from start to finish as will the slobbering dog.But these are very easy to dismiss, as Eisenberg is in no way a badactor, nor are any of the other cast members for that matter. The factis, that there isn't much to say about this movie because it is reallygood, not a master piece, but really good.So take you and your baby to Rio because you will both enjoy it. Unlessyou are a pessimist.7/10 stars or 3.5/5 stars

Eric D. Snider

13 May 2012

The film has been made with such sunny enthusiasm that it's easy to disregard its over-familiar story and just enjoy the samba.

Hellmant

10 May 2012

Should please kids but no one else.

'RIO': Two Stars (Out of Five) Another computer animated kids film from the director of 'ICE AGE' (andit's two sequels) Carlos Saldanha. This one tells the story of aMinnesota raised Macaw, who's afraid of flying, that's taken to Rio tomate with a female macaw in order to save their species. The film iswritten by Saldanha (who was born in Brazil) and six other writers andis said to be his "dream project". That's kind of sad considering thefilm isn't very good. It's beautiful to look at but it's also filledwith cheap jokes and is rather boring and predictable. It should pleasekids but no one else.Jesse Eisenberg stars as the voice of Blu. Blu is a macaw who was bornin Brazil but was captured, along with his family, by smugglers andshipped to Minnesota. The box that Blu was in fell off a shipping truckthough and he was picked up by a small child named Linda, who namedhim. The movie then flashes forward 15 years when Blu is living withLinda (voiced by Leslie Mann) in a bookstore she owns. He still has notlearned to fly but constantly attempts to teach himself. One day aBrazilian scientist named Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) comes to the door andasks to take Blu with him to Brazil in order to mate him with the lastfemale macaw named Jewel (Anne Hathaway), in an attempt to save thespecies. Linda and Blu reluctantly go with Tulio to Brazil but oncethere Blu and Jewel are kidnapped by more smugglers.I don't usually see most animated kids films in the theater (or at allfor that matter) unless they really look appealing or have gotten ravereviews (usually both). This film got decent reviews from critics andfans (not great but decent) and it also has been huge at the box officeso I thought I'd give it a try. The film reminded me why I don't seemost animated kids films; they're a waste of time and money (if you seethem in the theater). Sure the computer animation looks beautiful butthat's not enough to keep my interest and with this film I really had ahard time staying interested. I found my mind drifting a lot afterwitnessing repeated silly jokes and a completely uninvolving string ofevents (which is the movie's excuse for a story). I like JesseEisenberg (he's another reason I thought I might like the movie) and hedoes decent voice work here but all the supporting comedic players areso tired and played out (including George Lopez, Wanda Sykes, JamieFoxx and Will i Am). The movie just has nothing of any interest orentertainment value to offer anyone over the age of ten (other thangood visuals) and a decent kids film should.Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBqNUf10kuk

tavm

09 May 2012

Rio is one of the best of its kind of this year

Just watched this computer-animated film in 3-D with my movietheatre-working friend, his nephew, and that nephew's friend. We allenjoyed the infectious atmosphere of the story along with the highlyenjoyable music-both classical Bossa Nova and original songs-that takesus from the title city to a small town in Minnesota and then backagain. The story of a bird poached from his native land whoaccidentally ends up with a young girl as she grows up during the 15years that passes before he's summoned by an animal doctor to mate witha female of his breed because of possible extinction is just the startof what I highly consider one of the best of its kind this year so far.And hearing the voices of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, will.i.am,Jamie Foxx, George Lopez, and others just adds to the great fun of thewhole thing. Nothing more to say except I highly recommend Rio.

Matt Brunson

08 May 2012

Rango was crafty enough to extend an olive branch to adult viewers. Rio is strictly for the kids, and anyone expecting this Brazilian-set film to contain any references to City of God (or, heck, even The Boys from Brazil) will be sorely disappointed.

08 May 2012

Well, I didn't hate it.

Rio seemed to stay in theaters longer than any non-Pixar animated movie in recent memory. I was actually surprised each week when I'd check the weekly box office scores and see Rio still in the top 5, week after week. The movie must've done something right, right? Well, I think the main reason it stuck around so long was because it was pretty much the only family movie out at the time. I recently finished the movie, and while it took me 5 sittings to get through the whole thing, I'll be honest and say that while I definitely didn't like it, it's still better than some other recent family movies (Hop, I'm lookin' at you). Rio just doesn't have much going for it aside from a colorful cast of characters and most of the focus being on the birds. A lot of the jokes fall flat, there's not much danger from the villains, and most of the actors chosen to do the voices shouldn't have been anywhere near this movie. But hey, at least George Lopez isn't doing his usual 'ayyyyy! I'm Mexican, we all talk like-a deeeeees! Low Riders!' here.The movie starts out with a baby blue macaw waking up in the rain forest of Rio de Janeiro as hundreds of birds dance and sing happily. Within minutes, they're caught by poachers and shipped off to who knows where, but the little macaw's crate falls off the truck in the middle of Minnesota of all places. A little girl named Linda saves him, and raises him as her own pet, naming him Blue. Blue never learns how to fly, but doesn't need to since he's efficient at walking and climbing, so he's set. Years pass and Linda's in her late teens or early 20s, when a man from Brazil shows up to her book store and wants to take Linda and Blue with him, where Blue will be paired up with the only other surviving blue macaw, where they'll save their species. Linda agrees, but once they make it back to Rio, where Carnival is starting, Blue is once again taken by poachers, but this time he's chained to the other macaw, Jewel. She doesn't think highly of him, calling him a pet and irritated by the fact that he can't fly, but they'll have to work together if they're going to escape from the poachers, and especially if they're going to be mates.Yes it's another fish out of water story, and it's another predictable one at that. The cast of characters is as generic as you get: dweeb hero, headstrong girl he's in love with, a knowledgeable sidekick, two goofy buddies, a trio of stooges for the secondary bad guys, and the main bad guy (another bird) with an accent. I didn't care about any of these characters, apart from Jewel, and that's because she's a no-nonsense character that I could at least agree with on how she handled some things. The others were just kinda...there. It didn't help that the voice actors barely put any effort into their lines, especially Jemaine Clement as Nigel, the evil bird. Even during his song, Jemaine sounds bored. It made me wonder why more actors didn't take a lesson from Jeremy Irons when he sang Scar's 'Be Prepared' in The Lion King. The other voice actors, including Tracy Morgan and will.i.am (ugh) play such stereotypes that it was borderline offensive. It seemed like will.i.am was just brought into the movie so he could show off a few sound effects he could do vocally, act 'street' and that was it. and Leslie Mann as a young girl? I don't even need to comment on that one. Enough with the voices though, as much as it bothered me, because the other main problem is that things are just so light. The problems the heroes get into are resolved in no time, and like I said, the villains don't pose much of a threat. Jewel's never intimidated by Nigel, who towers over her, and has no problem making the first move. If anything, Nigel's just a jerk, nothing more. At the same time, and I know I'm contradicting myself here, I'm kind of glad it took the light route and didn't take things too seriously, because they could've easily done that here. The poaching bit was just begging for some kind of forced message, and they didn't do it.Were there things I liked about this movie? Sure. The animation and art direction was beautiful, and while it's not on Pixar or Dreamworks' finest level (How to Train Your Dragon and the Kung Fu Panda movies), the scenes with animals and flying around are a sight to behold. As flat as a lot of the jokes were, there was one that made me laugh out loud a little bit involving a crotch shot where the victim spits out two jewels. Anne Hathaway also did good with what she had to work with, though that's just a sign of a good actress, and she's done voice acting before in The Cat Returns and Hoodwinked. Kids 8 and under will probably be the best audience for Rio, but anyone older won't get much out of it.The blu-ray looks and sounds perfect, that's all there is to it. I don't have any complaints at all with either area, and this is definitely something to show off your new tv with if you want to use an animated film as a demo. You can really see the tiniest details in the trees during the rain forest sequences, and the sound is all over the place during the more hectic bits. The special features are ok, with most of them focusing on music, dance, and the voice actors. I've actually always liked seeing footage of the actors recording their lines, so this was a treat to see. It was also nice that they included Angry Birds Rio, my personal favorite of the Angry Birds games, as it feels more polished than the others, and features characters and levels from the movie. The game was already cheap enough, but getting it for free is cool for people who haven't went for it yet.Had there been better acting, at least to match the facial expressions of the characters, I would've been a little more into the movie. I have to stress that as much as there was that I didn't like about the movie, it's still not bad and there are worse animated movies from the last couple of years that you could pick over this. Rio is a beautiful but flawed movie. Rent it and then decide if you want to spend the money on it.

Stephanie Zacharek

08 May 2012

It's a little disconcerting at first when Blu opens his mouth to speak and Mark Zuckerberg's voice comes out.

Gary Wolcott

07 May 2012

Like its main character, Rio just doesn't fly.

jamesantoniou

07 May 2012

Harmless family fun, but for such a hyped about promising film from a top animation studio, is slightly disappointing.

Rio Review: Over the past few years, the standard for animated films has been setso high by films like How to Train You Dragon, Toy Story 3, Rango,Tangled and Despicable Me. Sadly, Rio cannot meet the standards of any of the films mentionedabove. This is because everything in Rio is so common in films, it isalmost cliché; the geeky guy who tries to pull a girl, the interruptedkisses, awkward humour, the cheesy moral at the end. However, despitethis, there are some moments where Rio genuinely looks incredible, andthe colours and vibrancy puts a smile on your face. The story is very similar to Rango at the beginning, but not for long:Blu, a rare macaw, is accidentally transported from Rio to the USA,where he is found and kept by caring owner Linda. However, years later,a man called Tulio comes to tell Linda that Blu is very rare and theonly remaining bird of its kind is back in Rio. So - with seeminglylittle thought - Blu goes back to Rio to mate with Jewel (the othermacaw of its kind), and this is where all the unoriginal humour comesin when he is trying to pull Jewel. However, in some parts, the film sparks back into life, with anextravaganza of colour, best viewed in 3D. Also, Rio's graphics arevery good, and the 3D is possibly the best use of 3D I have ever seen.But Rio is let down by unoriginal humour, cliché villains, and a lazyplot. And, Rio isn't a very likable film - kids are not going to go onabout it for weeks after watching it, and Rio merchandise will not beon the top of Birthday and Christmas lists, unlike most kids films. Itis almost as if it is a shrine to Brazilian born Carlos Saldanha's -the director - hometown.Summary: Harmless family fun, but for such a hyped about promising filmfrom a top animation studio, is slightly disappointing.

aka_4200

07 May 2012

Phenomenal

Whenever I decide to do a review about a movie, I always like to lookat the "Loved it" reviews, and the "Hated it" reviews. The fact that Isaw 43 "Hated it" reviews astonished me. However, most of them saidalmost the exact same thing, "Cliche... Predictable... Unoriginal..."Anyone who reads these reviews will undoubtedly expect the bad things,but now to give my point of view and hopefully make up some people'sminds about this movie. First off, when I first saw this movie, Inoticed the vivid color and amazing scenery portrayed right off thebat.In the beginning you are introduced to Rio in it's natural habitat andthen you are introduced to Blu, who is captured and shipped to a townin Minnesota. He is found by a young girl, Linda, and she vows to takecare of the little Blue Macaw. This is where the true adventure beginsbecause it shows Blu's normal life, and in a flash Blu is travelingtowards a 'foreign' land known as Rio De Janeiro. Linda is running herbook store as usual, when a man approaches her and after muchconvincing and begging he gets Linda to consider his proposal to keepBlu's species alive.Once I saw how Rio is portrayed I was stunned and completely awestruckat the detail, roads, and beaches; almost identical to the actual cityitself. As said in the beginning of the movie, Blu is the last male ofhis kind and just recently they have found the last female of his kindas well. As the usual love story goes the relationship between Blu andhis new female counterpart, Jewel, is rough, but through anextraordinary adventure of meeting two hip-hop birds, a very helpfultoucan, and a drooling dog, Jewel and Blu experience Samba, hang-gliding, and riding on a trolley at sunset.There is only one bad thing that I could find with this movie, and thatis when the adventure is over, I didn't want it to end. With this movieyou get a connection with the characters and feel as if you wereactually on the journey. All the way to the last credit in the movie Icouldn't wait to watch the movie the next night. There were absolutelyno flaws and the music was very catchy and mesmerizing, especially thesamba song. However, if someone were to ask me if there should be a "Rio 2", Iwould have to say no. This movie could not have been any more perfect.I feel a sequel would only end with people having a bad taste in theirmouth, but I could be wrong. I would see the sequel, and who knowsmaybe I would be just as surprised as the first time I saw this movie.I hope this review is helpful and I hope that if you had any hesitationfor seeing the movie before that you have made up your mind. This movieis a high recommendation by me.

05 May 2012

Very entertaining but lacks Portuguese subtitle

This review is from: Rio (Blu-ray/ DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) The Blu-ray has a terrific sound and image, but I was really disapointed because it didn't offer Portuguese language in the subtitles, despite being so related to Brazil and Rio de Janeiro. I haven't used the digital copy so far, but it seems to be handy.

04 May 2012

Superb BluRay

This review is from: Rio (Blu-ray/ DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) Rio (Blu-ray/ DVD Combo + Digital Copy)An excellent movie. The whole family enjoyed it and we will be watching it many times in the future.A must have for any collection.