Miguel_Melo

I never understood why people loved Finding Nemo so much: the story was unexciting and the main characters (Merlin and Dory) were fairly one-dimensional. So I went into "Finding Dory" with low expectations... and I can't really say that I was far off.

Dory really is a one-trick pony (fish?) - she forgets things... and that's it. To make matters worse, the film ensures we don't forget that by driving the point home until it grates.

The film does pick up a bit and provide a few laughs when a motley crew of quirky secondary characters like Hank the curmudgeon octopus or Becky the loony bird come to Dory's aid, but you have to worry when Pixar needs to rehash a story line around forgettable characters. Luckily, the intro short is a lot more endearing than the main feature. 6.5/10

I was quite underwhelmed by CA:CW. For starters, I found the story vacuous and that the motivations leading to the conflict did not to strike a chord with me: so much so that I could no longer remember them anymore on the following day!

Yes, combat scenes are impressive and daftly edited for a brisk pace, but they are so plentiful - and the characters so many - that occasionally it gets complicated to work out who's fighting who and exactly why.

This, in fact, may well be the main problem with CA:CW - there's now so many heroes with so much back-story in other movies, that the whole thing is beginning to collapse under its own weight.

What a pleasant surprise... followed by absolute dismay. The film starts well indeed, photography is warm and inviting, and acting is accomplished. Some of the dialog is quirky, and you get a decidedly modern French (rather than old Portuguese) cinema feel. But then cracks start appearing in the canvas: certain character decisions seem to be outright obscure (why did Evaristo snap on Carlos after the party? How does Amália feel regarding, well, everyone else?) while others appear to no use at all (Oceana Balisio's character being the most obvious culprit). But the real clencher is the inordinate amount of scenes that seem to have been edited out for (I assume) brevity's sake, with complete disregard for cohesiveness or understandability. I won't elaborate so as to not give any spoilers but you will find them in the final third of the movie, a cardinal sin that leaves you with a bitter aftertaste when the credits roll. What a crying shame. 5/10