Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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20 UCW FEBRUARY 19-25, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Nut Job (85 minutes) does not cover itself in glory as an animated family film. For those of you who were curious about what would happen if you got South Korea in your Canadian animation, now you know, and it ain't pretty. The characters aren't that likeable, the animation is average at best, and there was little to no thought put into the plot. Also, remember 2012? The filmmakers do, and to prove it they animated Psy and had him do his horsey dance and sing "Gangnam Style" over the end credits. I groove to that song but hearing it in an animated film makes me reluctant to admit it. There are two stories intertwining in the movie, but even so the plot is a little thin to cover even the short running time. In Plot A, Raccoon (Liam Neeson) leads a group of park animals in a communist utopia. All the beautiful creatures selflessly contribute scraps to a central food warehouse. These winter supplies are concentrated in the hollow of a big tree, which will seem a little short-sighted should nuclear war break out among the park inhabitants. While most of the critters humbly accept the rule of Raccoon and allow him to decide how many the food supply will feed over winter, one squirrel dares to be different. Surly (Will Arnett) is "a loner, baby, a rebel." He is also pretty mean to his only friend, a rat named Buddy (Robert Tinkler) who was obviously dropped on his little rat head more than once. Why else would he put up with a friend that verbally, physically, and emotionally abuses him? I know, I know — we should not blame the victim nor draw mean- spirited conclusions about them. The point is, Surly is a jerk and nobody but Buddy is willing to tolerate his all-for-none, more-for-me attitude towards life. In Plot B, a mob boss (Stephen Lang) and his flunkies are using a nut shop as a cover for robbing the bank that is conveniently next door. The boss has just been released from jail and he plans for an elaborate heist involving the use of dynamite to break into the bank vault; he also plans to replace the bags of money with bags of nuts so the bankers won't even know the theft has taken place. Also, there is a blonde lady with a '40s hairdo, Lana (Sarah Gadon) who thinks the mob boss is leaving his life of crime behind and plans on running a legitimate nut business. In case you hadn't noticed, Plot B is stupid. Also, when Plot A begins to involve the gangsters from Plot B the themes get muddy. See, it is set up to be unacceptable for the gangsters to steal money but perfectly alright for the park animals to steal all the nuts in the store. Let me point you to 1971's Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, or the film version, The Secret of NIMH. The fact that the NIMH rats are moving to a valley because they think it is unacceptable to steal electricity and food from the farmer imparts a solid moral for young readers. Here, the kids are going to root for the thieving critters and walk away with the idea that it's okay to steal from thieves. Possibly I am putting too much thought into this. Anyway, the park is dangerously low on food, so Raccoon sends squirrels Andie (Katherine Heigl) and Grayson (Brendan Fraser) on a quest to look for an alternate food supply. Andie and Grayson get separated, but Andie figures out that Surly is planning a raid on the nut store and demands a share for the park dwellers. Surly agrees under duress and plans a break-in that requires some groundhogs and a pug (Maya Rudolph) to pull off. Too bad it turns out that there is a mole in their group — Mole (Jeff Dunham) is sent by Raccoon to sabotage the food heist for poorly explained reasons. Despite knowing about the saboteur and finding out that the park dwellers plan to double-cross him, Surly goes forward with his plan to steal nuts and wacky hijinks ensue. Overall it wasn't the worst kids movie I've seen this year, but that doesn't mean I'm going to rush out and buy a copy for my son, either. Now I Have A Nut Allergy Nut Job (Rated PG) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upand- comingweekly.com. Thursday, February 27th from 5:00-7:00 p.m. General Classroom Building 2817 Fort Bragg Road, FTCC Fayetteville campus Learn about earning tuition-free college credit prior to graduation! 10th & 11th Graders & their families: Come To Our 2nd Annual High School Connections Open House Offering over 190 programs leading to the award of associate degree, certificate or diploma. A military friendly school! www.faytechcc.edu Students will be able to attend a general information session, start their enrollment paperwork, and explore all of the programs available by speaking with current students and faculty. 910.678.8400