MONSTERS UNIVERSITY Review

While it may not be a return to form for Pixar, "Monsters University" is still immensely enjoyable and probably among the best animated offerings we'll see this year, a bright a colorful frolic that packs enough creative punch this animated studio is known for. As a prequel to 2001's "Monsters Inc.," it doesn't brim with the incomparable originality of the first, but these filmmakers also obviously don't want to rest on their laurels.

Directed by Dan Scanlon who wrote "Cars" and from a screenplay by Pete Doctor and Andrew Stanton, the premise is refreshingly simple. A young Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) goes on a field trip to Monsters Inc. and ever since dreams to attend Monsters University to become a scarer. Once on campus, Mike meets his roommate Randy (Steve Buscemi), a geek who wants to get in with the cool crowd -- one of the movie's many winks to the original. Mike is a geek who doesn't mind remaining a geek and spends the entire semester skipping out on parties to study.

The bookworm Mike butts heads with a young, cocky Sully (John Goodman) who uses his family name, Sullivan, on the intention of sliding through school and becoming a scarer on his own merit, no studying required. When confronted with an ultimatum by the severe-looking Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren), Mike and Sully are forced to join the same fraternity to compete in the university-hosted Scare Games. Their frat, however, is the opposite of Roar Omega Roar, the popular kids on campus. Oozma Kappa is where Mike and Sully meet fellow teammates Squishy (Peter Sohn), Don (Joel Murray), Terri (Sean Hayes) and Art (Charlie Day). As a bunch of cuddly monsters, these characters and the voice acting are quite funny.

What's added fun about "Monsters University" is that it truly does capture college life, which is cleverly tongue-in-cheek for a kids' movie. The games themselves, a trial of challenges from don't wake the parents to don't scare the teenager, are a whole lot of fun. The movie has a zippy, high energy with pastel hues bouncing together and photo realistic textures making a constant delight for the senses. And in classic Pixar tradition, there's a final hook in the story that might even put a lump in your throat. Pixar fans, have no fear: this is no "Cars 2."

HITCHCOCK Review

"Hitchcock" could be re-titled "Mrs. Hitchcock" as a lot of the movie's emphasis and intrigue comes from the famed director's loving, dedicated but ultimately frustrated and fed-up wife, Alma Reville. She helps her husband on almost every picture he makes and yet gets pushed to the side when it's time for his limelight. So, while basing its premise on the inception and creation of the high watermark of his career, "Psycho," the drama comes from the troubled side of the Hitchcock marriage and creative collaboration.

Helen Mirren stuns as Alma, especially in a bold moment of confrontation to her obsessive and unwittingly neglectful husband. She's married to a man who becomes possessed by his films, especially his blonde bombshell leading ladies he wishes to turn into stars. For "Psycho," he turns to Janet Leigh (a charming and radiant Scarlett Johansson) who, in the shooting of the pivotal shower scene, sees Hitchcock's dark recesses come to light as he jabs a knife toward her to elicit real terror in her reaction. The other lead is Vera Miles (Jessica Biel), an actress Hitchcock wanted as his muse, but she chose the life of a housewife over him reaping her with fame and fortune.

The ensemble cast comes into play when Hitchcock places the idea of "Psycho" as his next picture to his agent (Michael Stuhlbarg), personal assistant (Toni Collette), the Paramount studio head (Richard Portnow) who is hesitant to finance him and the ratings board (Kurtwood Smith) who threatens to not release the film in theaters due to its content. It's a fun, colorful cast that introduces a level of soapy drama through fellow Hitchcock collaborator and writer Whitfield Cook (Danny Huston) who is slyly trying to take not only the limelight away from the director -- but also maybe even his wife.

The movie gets a little wrongheaded when it tries a tongue-and-cheek tone to mirror a classic Hitchcock style of suspense complete with moody and tension-building music. And yet these dashes of faux horror suspense are created out of marital dispute and inadvertently flatten the level of drama created by the actors. Ultimately, Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of the director comes off as too campy, cheeky and more of a caricature than a real man -- which isn't so much the fault in his acting but the wonky screenplay. This most notably comes through when the actor breaks the third wall addressing the audience as Hitchcock. It could've been a deeper film about the heartbreak, sacrifice and ultimate triumph of manifesting "Psycho," but instead it's only entertaining, surface-level fare.