Much Ado About Nothing - DVD Review

Starring Amy Acker, Alex Denisof, Clark Gregg, Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion, Fran Kranz, Sean Maher and Spencer Treat Clark.
Directed by Joss Whedon.

★★★

This was filmed over 12 days at Whedon's house. He's gathered his friends from his TV shows and turned Shakespeare's play into one long dinner party.  The performances are light and fun, and while it won't make you forget Kenneth Branagh's version anytime soon, it has its own rewards.

My central issue with it was giving the role of Benedick to Denisof. He speeds through his lines without much thought, leaving him an unworthy verbal sparring partner for Amy Acker's cynical Beatrice. But Reed Diamond's light on his toes and with his tongue as Don Pedro, Sean Maher outglowers Keanu Reeves as Don John, and Nathan Fillion steals the show as the constable Dogberry.

Monsters University - DVD Review

Starring the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Nathan Fillion, Charlie Day, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Alfred Molina and Aubrey Plaza.
Directed by Dan Scanlon.

★★★

Pixar must have had a hankering to do a college comedy, a G-rated riff on Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds, so they revisited the Monsters Inc crew.  I don't think if you took a poll of the Pixar library that Monsters Inc would have won "Which Movie Do You Most Want a Sequel To?" but it's entertaining in its own right.

Mike and Sully are rivals at college. They fight at first, but when they both get kicked out of the Scare program, they have to work together to get back in. I liked it more than their past couple efforts (Brave, Cars 2).