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Freeze FrameKansas City Community Radio Author: KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio
Freeze Frame is a weekly show reviewing the latest movies from Hollywoods best to independent and arthouse movies. Language: en-us Genres: Arts, Film Reviews, Performing Arts, TV & Film Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Freeze Frame: "Animal Farm" (PG), "Deep Water" (R), "Swapped" (PG)
Thursday, 30 April, 2026
George Orwell's classic totalitarian critique "Animal Farm" gets a dumbed-down animated big screen incarnation. Yes, the pigs take over the farm, but the metaphors don't fly. The all-star voice cast includes Seth Rogan, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin and Woody Harrelson but their efforts are for naught. Screenwriter Nicholas Stoller and director Andy Serkis deserve some credit for trying a new approach, but this so-called modernized version of “Animal Farm” isn't for adults who revere Orwell or for kids who couldn’t care less. Here's one that won't be shown on airlines anytime soon. "Jaws" meets "Airport" in "Deep Water," the story of a loaded passenger flight that crashes into -you guessed it- shark infested waters. Aaron Eckhart and Sir Ben Kingsley are the captains who accidentally serve up a smorgasbord for hungry carnivores along with the typical disaster movie cliches. If the premise sounds familiar, another movie called “No Way Up” came out two years ago with a nearly identical plot. While it’s overly familiar, director Renny Harlin's opus “Deep Water” is impressively filmed. It ain’t deep, but disaster movie fans won’t mind. Producer John Lasseter may no longer be at Pixar, but his creative fingerprints are all over the wildly imaginative Netflix animated fantasy, "Swapped." Michael B. Jordan and Juno Temple provide the voices of a mammal and a bird who magically swap bodies in a fantastical woodland area. Their experiences change their perspectives, proving that differences are good and that working together makes life better for everyone. It's smart and beautifully animated. "Swapped" is a family film in the best sense, providing thoughtful entertainment that can be enjoyed by all age groups.
