Monsters University

     Disney and Pixar's latest hit, Monsters University, tells the story of how Mike Wazowski and James "Sulley" Sullivan from the 2001 film Monsters Inc. first met. It's a tale of rivalry, friendship, scares, and self-discovery, but when you get right down to it, it's a story about Mike. Far from his role in Monsters Inc. where we often saw Mike sidelined behind Sulley's super-stardom as top scarer ("I can't believe I'm on a magazine cover!"), here he is front and center for most of the movie, and it's certainly the better for it.

     In Monsters University, we first meet Mike as a kid, a miniature version of the

 monster we already know, at the same time already just as geeky, neurotic, and comically ignored as his future self. On a field trip to the scare factory that is Monsters Inc., however, the first sparks of his dream are kindled. There Mike first visits the scare floor, first sees how the business of scaring takes place, and (through a bit of sneaking and perhaps taking advantage of the fact that nobody pays attention to him) he gets to witness firsthand one of MI's professional scarers at work. The experience launches a lifelong obsession for Mike, a goal he sets for himself at that very moment: to become a scarer.

    

    Flash forward to the first day at school for Monsters U, where Mike stands at the 

cusp of his dream. He gets set up with his new roommate, enrolls in classes, and starts off on his journey to, as he puts it "ace all my classes, graduate with honors, and break the world scare record." Unfortunately, this proves to be a less easy task than Mike had hoped, considering that, well, he isn't scary. In fact, he is so un-scary that he ends up kicked out of the entire scaring program.
What's a monster to do?

     Enter the Scare Games, of course! Seeing it as his only way back into the scaring program, Mike makes a public bet with Dean Hardscrabble, head of the scaring program, that if he and his team win the Scare Games, they will be admitted into the program. If they lose, however, they'll face expulsion. What becomes of our unlikely hero? Check out Disney & Pixar's Monsters University to find out!

     

Monsters University, now playing in theaters nationwide.

After Earth

     After Earth, starring Will and Jaden Smith, is an action-packed tale of survival, family, and overcoming fear at all costs. Set a millennium after humanity destroyed earth, it tells the story of Cypher Raige (Will Smith) and his son Kitai (Jaden Smith). Cypher is the commander general of the United Ranger Corps, a group designed to fight the Ursa (aliens that can smell fear), and he is widely regarded as the greatest leader that humanity has seen, the primary threat to the Ursa because he is the only human who can ghost (remove himself of all fear, and thereby make himself invisible to them.) Kitai, on the other hand, grew up in the shadow of his famous father, which only makes his failure to be admitted as a Cadet even worse.
   

     But when Cypher and Kitai are the only survivors of a spaceship crash that strands them on the uninhabited (by humans at least) leftovers of planet Earth, they must learn to work together if they're ever going to get off the planet. To do so, Kitai has to travel across the planet, with Cypher as his guide, and send off the distress signal from the other half of the ship. The challenge tests Kitai's strength on his own, as well as his relationship with his father.

   

     After Earth is a dramatic and exciting journey through the ruins of earth, and at its heart, a story about the bond between fathers and sons, trust, and overcoming fear. At a talkback following a screening of the film that I was lucky enough to attend, Will Smith revealed that it was this core theme of facing fear that drew him to the project. What appealed to him in particular was the mix between a large scale sci-fi action film and a story with a simple moral: face your fear and overcome it.

After Earth is currently playing in movie theaters nationwide

Man of Steel

     From DC Comics, Warner Brothers, and Director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen), Man of Steel is the latest Superman film to hit theaters, and when I say hit, I truly mean it-- this film packs a punch like only Superman can! Showing audiences the Last Son of Krypton in a different light than usual, the film emphasizes  the human side of Kal-El/Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), displaying the struggle between the two halves of his identity: Kal-El, the last hope of a dying planet, and Clark Kent, the boy who was born and raised in Smallville, Kansas.

     At the core of this struggle is the teachings of Superman's two fathers: Jor-El (Russell Crowe), his biological father from Krypton, and Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), who raised Clark from when he was a baby. Kent fears that if Clark reveals his powers, he will be shunned and feared by the people of Earth, whereas
         Jor-El explains to Clark (posthumously) that he believes there is great potential in the superhuman powers Clark possesses. "You will give the people an ideal to strive towards," he tells his son. "They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders." Stuck between the opposite ideals of his father figures, Clark must decide who he wants to become. He must choose between anonymity and his natural gifts.

     Of course, the movie isn't all self-discovery... it is a superhero flick after all, and so naturally there's a big bad lurking behind the scenes, plotting away and building the whole movie into a climactic battle. That villain is none other than General Zod. 

     Played with glistening ire and determination by Michael Shannon, Zod is the corrupt military leader of Krypton, who survived the destruction of his home planet solely because he had been banished for attempting a military coup. He seeks to align himself with Superman and rebuild Krypton over the ashes of Earth, but when Superman refuses his offer, Zod puts himself on the warpath against not only Superman, but anyone and anything that he cares about on Earth. Of course, Superman won't go down without a fight (and what a fight it is!), but I'll let you find out how that goes when you're in the theater. All I'll say is this-- it's a pulse-pounding conclusion that'll have you at the edge of your seat. 

     Certainly a cut above the average summer movie popcorn flick, Man of Steel is a must-see that could very well end up as the hit of this summer, and maybe even this year. Check it out in theaters starting this Friday, June 14.