Review: Home

Budget 135 million,   Boxoffice 386 million.

Run-time 94 minutes

Voice Cast
Jim Parsons as Oh
Rihanna as Gratuity "Tip" Tucci
Steve Martin as Captain Smek
Jennifer Lopez as Lucy Tucci
Matt Jones as Kyle, a Boov police officer.
Brian Stepanek as Gorg Commander, the leader of the Gorg

I honestly do not think that HOME needs a review.  The plot is completely derivative.  One clueless alien race being chased by another malevolent race, invades Earth, displacing humans as completely incompetent, though it soon becomes clear that the worst screw-up is  O who is constantly screwing up in major fashion. 

O is soon befriended by Tip who is looking for her mother.  Together they both commence on a totally warped road trip.

Along the way there are major reversals and not everything is as it seems.

The movie is well drawn and animated as well as brilliantly voice cast.  I would be tempted to rate it an 8 for the above and it is clearly a fine film for young people or a family film.  But if we rate it with the plot line you have to take into account how lazy and derivative it is, drawing for just about any invasion film out there.  So the best I can do is 6, which means go ahead and watch it and enjoy it with your children or family.  But be prepared to explain yourself to your friends! 

Review: HAL

Hal

Here is this initial setup for the movie:

• Kurumi struggles with the loss of her boyfriend, Hal, and shuts herself off from the world. She remains a recluse until an android is made to look like Hal and sent to help her cope.

From this point the audience is treated to an even paced "slice of life" which slowly pulls you in to where you buy into the plot devices completely.  

Hal maintains the premise through most of the movie.  There are the odd moments however when Hal is it would appear, reintroduced to childhood friends who are completely nonpluses when Hal doesn't recall them at all.  Now this would at first blush be expected, however it is the friends reaction that begins to be telling.  Not all is as it seems.  That mixed with an ofttimes melancholy and often tearful happiness.  

The ending moments are hardly a given.  I was privy to the concluding moments and still found myself asking why such and such a development happened.  

The film at times is cute, other times heart breathtakingly sad and through it all is woven a thread of mystery.  

I would give the movie a solid 8, I would take off some for what appears to be deliberate confusion