Home, 2015

Home is a 2015 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Loosely based on Adam Rex's 2007 children's book The True Meaning of Smekday, the film was directed by Tim Johnson from a screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, and stars the voices of Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and Matt Jones. The story follows the shared adventures of a friendly alien who is shunned by the rest of his kind, and a teenage girl searching for her mother after they are separated during an invasion of Earth.

TRAILER

PLOT

A cowardly alien race known as the Boov, led by Captain Smek, commence their "friendly" invasion of the planet Earth. Relocating the humans, whom the Boov deem as simple and backwards, to the Australian Outback, the Boov inhabit their homes. Oh, an accident-prone, free-thinking Boov, decides to invite the other Boov to his apartment for a housewarming party, but no one comes. Meanwhile, 13-year-old[6] Gratuity "Tip" Tucci and her Japanese Bobtail cat Pig, who managed to avoid being taken during the invasion, drive around the city searching for Lucy, Tip's mom.

Oh visits grumpy Boov traffic officer Kyle, to invite him to the party. However, Oh accidentally sends the invitation email to every alien race in the galaxy, including the hostile Gorg, who have been the Boov's longtime enemy ever since a failed peace meeting, during which Captain Smek stole an artifact he later dubbed "the Shusher". Furious with Oh for revealing their new home to the Gorg, the Boov declare him a fugitive. Oh runs into a convenience store to hide, just as Tip crashes the car and enters the store in search of supplies. Tip attacks Oh on sight, and locks him in a freezer, until he promises to fix her car, which he turns into a flying craft named "Slushious".

To hide from the Boov, Oh promises to help Tip find Lucy. However, Oh secretly plans to abandon Tip and take himself to Antarctica, the only place on Earth with no Boov. His attempt to leave Tip in a public restroom is thwarted by Kyle, who arrives to force Oh to give him his email password so Smek can cancel the invitation.

Escaping Kyle, Oh and Tip reach Paris and sneak into the Boov Command Centre. Oh cancels the invitation before it reaches the Gorg; he then looks for Lucy, and the computer confirms she is in Australia, where she also looks for her daughter. Trying to return to Slushious, Oh and Tip are cornered by Smek and many other Boov at the Great Antenna (Eiffel Tower). Smek orders Oh's execution, despite the invitation being stopped. Tip uses a Boov gravity device to turn the tower upside down, and she and Oh escape.

Oh informs Tip that he no longer believes Smek's propaganda about humans being simple and backward, and apologizes to her. They fly to Australia, but are suddenly surrounded by hundreds of Boov fleeing from Gorg drones, sent to search for them. Slushious is wrecked, but Oh finds a Gorg SuperChip in a crashed drone, and uses it to repair the car.

When they reach the human relocation camp, Oh realizes the other Boov are evacuating, and fears that the Gorg will take vengeance on Earth when they cannot find the Boov. He tries to convince Tip to flee with them, but she refuses. Oh joins the Boov, but runs back towards the Gorg to use the SuperChip to power the Boov mothership, which then easily outpaces the Gorg. Impressed at his bravery, the other Boov listen as Oh berates Captain Smek for his lies, and the other Boov for their cowardice. Moved, Kyle takes the Shusher from a horrified Smek and decrees that Oh should be the new captain. Oh reluctantly accepts, turns the ship around, and returns to Earth. He helps Tip reunite with Lucy, fulfilling his promise.

Realizing from a chance remark of Tip's that the Gorg are actually tracking the Shusher and not the Boov, Oh locks Tip and Lucy inside Slushious, and faces the approaching Gorg ship alone. Tip and Lucy escape and try to stop him. The Gorg ship hits the brakes, only just avoiding crushing Oh. He returns the Shusher, revealed to be an egg containing the entire next generation of Gorg. The lone Gorg inside the ship happily accepts the egg; being the last of his kind, he had been desperately searching for his children.

Two weeks later, the Boov have relocated their colony to the Moon. Many Boov visit Earth, which has been returned to normal, and mingle with the humans, who are restored to their original homes. Oh moves in with the Tuccis; many other aliens, invited by Oh, come to visit Earth and attend his parties.

Rating: 10 Stars

Mohana, 2016

Moana, also known as Vaiana or Oceania in some markets, is a 2016 American animated musical fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, co-directed by Chris Williams and Don Hall, and produced by Osnat Shurer, from a screenplay written by Jared Bush and a story by Clements, Musker, Williams, Hall, Pamela Ribon, and the writing team of Aaron and Jordan Kandell.

TRAILER

PLOT

On the Polynesian island of Motunui, the inhabitants worship the goddess of nature, Te Fiti; a living island who, long ago, brought life to the ocean using a pounamu stone as her heart and the source of her power. One day, Maui, the shape-shifting demigod of the wind and sea and master of wayfinding, stole Te Fiti's heart to give humanity the power of creation. This caused Te Fiti to disintegrate, and Maui was attacked by Te Kā, a volcanic demon. Maui lost both the heart and his magic fish hook to the depths of the sea.

A thousand years later, the ocean chooses Moana, the daughter of Motunui's chief Tui, to return the heart to Te Fiti. Tui and Sina, Moana's parents, try to keep her away from the ocean to prepare her to become the island's chief. Sixteen years later, blight strikes the island, killing vegetation and shrinking the fish catch. Moana suggests going beyond the island's reef with her pet pig Pua to find more fish and find out what is happening, but Tui forbids it. Moana tries conquering the reef, but is overpowered by the tides and shipwrecked. That afternoon, Moana's grandmother Tala shows her a secret cavern of ships and reveals Motunui's people were voyagers until Maui stole Te Fiti's heart; the ocean was no longer safe without it. Tala explains Te Kā's darkness is destroying the island, but can be cured if Moana finds Maui and has him restore the heart of Te Fiti. Having been given the heart by the ocean, Tala gives it to Moana. Tala later becomes severely ill and tells Moana to find Maui before she dies.

Moana sets sail on a camakau from the cavern along with her dimwitted pet rooster, Heihei, who stowed away on it. They are caught in a typhoon and shipwrecked on an island, where she finds Maui, who boasts about his achievements. She demands Maui return the heart, but he refuses and traps her in a cave before leaving on her boat. She escapes and confronts Maui, who reluctantly lets her on the camakau. They are attacked by Kakamora, coconut pirates who seek the heart, but Moana and Maui outwit them. Moana realizes Maui is no longer a hero since he stole the heart and cursed the world, and convinces him to redeem himself by returning the heart. However, Maui first needs to retrieve his fishhook in Lalotai, the Realm of Monsters, from Tamatoa, a giant coconut crab. While Moana distracts Tamatoa, Maui retrieves his hook, only to find himself unable to control his shape-shifting. He is overpowered by Tamatoa, but Moana's quick thinking allows them to escape with the hook. Maui reveals his first tattoo was earned when his human parents abandoned him as an infant, and the gods, taking pity on him, granted him his powers. After reassurance from Moana, Maui teaches her the art of way-finding, regaining control of his powers, and the two grow closer.

They arrive at Te Fiti's island, only to be attacked by Te Kā. Moana refuses to turn back, resulting in Maui's hook being badly damaged. Unwilling to lose his hook again, Maui abandons Moana, who asks the ocean to find someone else to restore the heart and loses hope. The ocean obliges and takes the heart, but Tala's spirit appears, inspiring Moana to find her true calling. She retrieves the heart and sails back to confront Te Kā. Maui returns, having had a change of heart, and buys Moana time to reach Te Fiti by fighting Te Kā, destroying his hook in the process. Upon being unable to find Te Fiti, Moana realizes Te Kā is Te Fiti, having become corrupted without her heart. The ocean clears a path for Moana, allowing her to return the heart to Te Fiti, who heals the ocean and islands of blight. Maui apologizes to Te Fiti, who fixes his hook as well as Moana's boat before falling into a deep sleep and becoming an island. Moana bids farewell to Maui and Te Fiti, returning home and reuniting with her parents. She takes up her role as chief and wayfinder, leading her people as they resume voyaging, accompanied by Maui.

Rating: 10 Stars

Emoji, 2017

The Emoji Movie is a 2017 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film was directed by Tony Leondis from a screenplay he co-wrote with Eric Siegel and Mike White, based on a story by Leondis and Siegel. It stars the voices of T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph, Steven Wright, Jennifer Coolidge, Jake T. Austin, Christina Aguilera, Sofía Vergara, Sean Hayes, and Sir Patrick Stewart. Based on emojis, the film centers on a multi-expressional emoji Gene (Miller), who exists in a digital city called Textopolis, for a smartphone owned by Alex (Austin), embarking on a journey to become a normal emoji capable of only a single expression, accompanied by his friends, Hi-5 (Corden) and Jailbreak (Faris). During their travels through the other apps, the trio must save their world from total destruction before it is reset for functionality.

TRAILER

PLOT

Gene is an emoji that lives in Textopolis, a digital city inside the phone of his user, a teenager named Alex. He is the son of two meh emojis named Mel and Mary and is able to make multiple expressions despite his parents' upbringing. His parents are hesitant about him going to work, but Gene insists so that he can feel useful. Upon receiving a text from his love interest Addie McCallister, Alex decides to send her an emoji. When Gene is selected, he panics, makes a panicked expression, and wrecks the text center. Gene is called in by Smiler, a smiley emoji and leader of the text center, who concludes that Gene is a "malfunction" and therefore must be deleted. Gene is chased by bots but is rescued by Hi-5, a once-popular emoji who has since lost his fame due to lack of use. He tells Gene that he can be fixed if they find a hacker, and Hi-5 accompanies him so that he can reclaim his fame.

Smiler sends more bots to look for Gene when she finds out that he has left Textopolis, as his actions have caused Alex to think that his phone needs to be fixed. Gene and Hi-5 come to a piracy app where they meet a hacker emoji named Jailbreak, who wants to reach Dropbox so that she can live in the cloud. The trio is attacked by Smiler's bots, but manage to escape into the game Candy Crush. Jailbreak reveals that Gene can be fixed in the cloud, and the group goes off into the Just Dance app. While there, Jailbreak is revealed to be a princess emoji who fled home after tiring of being stereotyped. They are once again attacked by bots, and their actions cause Alex to delete the Just Dance app. Gene and Jailbreak escape, but Hi-5 is taken along with the app and ends up in the trash.

Mel and Mary go searching for Gene and have a very lethargic argument. They make up in the Instagram app when Mel reveals that he, too, is a malfunction, explaining Gene's behavior. While traveling through Spotify, Jailbreak admits that she likes Gene just the way he is and that he should not be ashamed of his malfunction. The two start to fall in love and Gene silently debates his choice to change himself. They make it to the trash and rescue Hi-5, but are soon attacked by a bot upgraded with illegal malware. They evade it by entangling its arms and enter Dropbox, where they encounter a firewall. After many tries, the gang gets past it with a password being Addie's name and make it to the cloud, where Jailbreak prepares to reprogram Gene. Gene admits his feelings for Jailbreak, but she wishes to stick to her plan of venturing into the cloud, unintentionally causing Gene to revert to his apathetic programming out of heartbreak. Suddenly, the upgraded bot sneaks into the cloud and captures Gene, prompting Hi-5 and Jailbreak to go after him with a Twitter bird summoned by Jailbreak in her princess form.

As Smiler prepares to delete Gene, Mel and Mary arrive. Mel reveals to everyone that he is also a malfunction, prompting Smiler to threaten to delete him as well. Jailbreak and Hi-5 arrive and disable the bot, which falls on top of Smiler. Alex has since taken his phone to a store in hopes that a factory reset performed by technical support would restore his phone's functionality, which would entail total destruction of Gene's world should such operation complete. Out of desperation, Gene prepares to have himself texted to Addie, making numerous faces to express himself. Realizing that Addie received a text from him, Alex cancels the factory reset just as it nearly finishes, saving the emoji and finally getting to speak with Addie, who likes the emoji Alex sent. Gene accepts himself for who he is and is celebrated by all of the emojis.

In a mid-credits scene, Smiler has been relegated to the "loser lounge" with the other unused and forgotten emojis for her crimes, wearing numerous braces due to her teeth being chipped by the bot, and playing and losing a game of Go Fish.

Rating: 10 Stars

13 Reasons Why, 2017

 13 Reasons Why is an American teen drama series developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey, based on the novel from 2007. Thirteen Reasons Why by author Jay Asher. The series revolves around high school student Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) and the aftermath of the suicide of fellow student Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford). Before her death, she leaves behind a box of cassette tapes in which she details the reasons why she chose to kill herself as well as the people she believes are responsible for her death.

TRAILER

 

FINAL SEASON

Overview

Set  in the fictional county of Evergreen, California, the first season follows Liberty High student Clay Jensen, who receives a set of cassette tapes at his front porch. These tapes were recorded by Hannah Baker, a former Liberty High student who killed herself two weeks prior and recorded thirteen reasons why she did so on the tapes. Each tape includes a reason for various people in Hannah's life – fellow students Justin Foley (Brandon Flynn), Jessica Davis (Alisha Boe), Alex Standall (Miles Heizer), Tyler Down (Devin Druid), Tony Padilla (Christian Navarro), Courtney Crimsen, Marcus Cole (Steven Silver), Zach Dempsey (Ross Butler), Ryan Shaver (Tommy Dorfman), Sheri Holland (Ajiona Alexus), Clay himself, Hannah herself, Bryce Walker (Justin Prentice), and school counselor Kevin Porter – and how those people are connected to her death

In the second season, Hannah's parents sue the school district, during which Hannah's tapes are released online. The fallout from the events of the first season and the toll it has taken on the lives of Liberty High's students is further shown.

The third season takes place eight months after the events of the second season. Ani Achola, a new student at Liberty High, narrates the season as Clay and his friends struggle to keep Tyler's attempted school shooting a secret and to help him in his recovery. Tensions rise among the tapes' subjects after Bryce is killed, with Clay as a suspect. In the wake of his death, Bryce's past actions and the person he has become in the aftermath of the release of Hannah's tapes are examined.

In the fourth and final season, Clay's mental health deteriorates as a result of the deaths of Bryce and Monty, while the other students of Liberty High plan for their impending graduation and future.

Rating: 10 Stars.