ryansassy1

Remember how the Muppets could always charm your socks off with that trademark wit, sense of fun, irreverence, and corny jokes that actually made you laugh out loud? So do I...well, don't get your hopes up with this movie.

The plot: an international tour of the Muppet Show, orchestrated by a Bad Guy pretending to be a big shot agent. Kermit is kidnapped and switched with his "evil twin", Constantine, the World's Most Dangerous Frog, and sent to the Gulag in his place. Now, under the guise of the show, Constantine and the Bad Guy follow the clues that will lead them to attempt a heist of the Crown Jewels of England.

That sounds okay, and indeed, it looks fine. The characters are all here, though none of them are given much time to shine. The production values are, too. Younger kids (under 5) will probably be okay with this film, because they aren't used to better from this franchise, unless mom and dad showed them the earlier (real) Muppet DVDs at home: I doubt, however, that even the tiny tots will beg to see Muppets Most Wanted a second time. Those who are used to Jim Henson's Muppets, however, will miss the sly wit, warmth, and innocent humor they have come to know and love.

Muppets Most Wanted is manic, disjointed, and full of star cameos, but it lost something important between the frantic pace and the whirlwind plot exposition; its very soul. It comes off suspiciously like it was rushed to capitalize on the success of the comeback Muppets film of 2011 (gasp! shock! Who could have predicted that?!), forgetting all that made the Muppets so much fun in the first place. Recommended only if you can see it for free, and no other Muppet movie is available.

While I didn't think Mud deserved its hyper-inflated RT score (at this time) of 99%, I enjoyed this thoughtful film about friendship among some riverboat kids and a lovelorn refugee hiding out on an island in the middle of the big river.

Two junior high school kids named Ellis and Neckbone decide to sneak out on an adventure of their own one morning to visit a deserted island in the middle of the river. They want to find a marooned old motorboat that got stuck up in a tree during the last big flood, and make it their own secret hideout. They discover, however, that somebody got there before them....Mud, who is on the run from the law after he killed the man who beat his girlfriend. Mud wins their trust with his sad story, and soon, the unlikely trio are plotting together to get the motorboat fixed so Mud can use it to make his escape. But as Ellis investigates around town, he realizes that he may be in too deep as danger unfolds from the other men who are looking for Mud...not to turn him in to the law, but to execute him in vengeance.

Matthew M is at his best in a role like this, playing an eccentric character with a certain low-down charm. The two boys playing Ellis and Neckbone were perfect; I think they're relative newcomers to movies, in which case it's all the more impressive that they could hold their own against the charismatic Mr. M. As for the rest of the cast: completely believable, displaying some great, understated acting skills.

The primary strength of Mud, however, was its cinematography. The wide expanses of riverscape set the lonely mood for the story, which, after all, is about finding human connections and holding onto love. It almost serves as a metaphor, but let's not get too introspective about this...it's just well-shot, and doesn't have to mean anything more.

The pacing of Mud was its main drawback, and by that I mean, it had all the elements of a compelling, well-acted script, but it simply dragged. Some judicious editing was in order to tighten up and sort out this film, which could have been great but settled for merely good.

I was also put off a bit by the weakness of the message(s): were we supposed to sympathize with everybody, or root for Mud, or his girlfriend, or Ellis? There were plenty of philosophical dilemmas barely touched on, but the film seemed to lack conviction to make any strong statements overall. There was a big climactic action scene toward the end, which resolved nothing really...the final conclusion was also unsatisfying; you get the impression that some sort of deep lesson was learned by Ellis, but exactly what that was remains unclear. The whole story had a vague, meandering quality which undercut all the strengths of acting and cinematography.

So I would hesitantly recommend Mud, but without raising any expectations. There are certainly worse ways to pass 2 hours and 10 minutes.