Thursday, April 30, 2015

Home

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DIRECTOR: Tim Johnson  LEAD CAST:  Rihanna. Jim Parsons, Jennifer Lopez, Steve Martin SCREENWRITER:  Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember  PRODUCER:  Chris Jenkins, Suzanne Buirgy  EDITOR:  Jessica Ambinder-Rojas, Alexander Berner  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Lorne Barfe  GENRE:  Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi  DISTRIBUTOR:  20th Century Fox  LOCATION:  United States RUNNING TIME: 94 minutes
Technical assessment: 3
Moral assessment:  3
CINEMA rating: PG 13


Aliens who called themselves the Boov are looking for a new place to inhabit and to escape their enemies, the Gorgs. They find a new home on earth and invade the planet on command of Captain Smek (voiced by Steve Martin).  Carefree Oh (voiced by Jim Parsons) is overwhelmed by a new home. He works to have a housewarming party but no one of his invitees show up. Out of disappointment, Oh sends out mass invitations which unfortunately reach the Gorgs. The Boovs are alarmed and disown Oh. Realizing what he did,  Oh tries to find ways to make up for his mistake. He meets and becomes friends with a human teenager Tip (voiced by Rihanna),who is looking for her mother Lucy (voiced by Jennifer Lopez). As he helps her find her mother, he discovers many good qualities of humans. But their friendship is put on test when Oh is torn between stopping the enemy in full take over of the planet Earth and the promise to help a human friend.
Home is a combination of sci-fi and animation with an interesting storyline with a struggling plot development. Using color changes to show the changing emotions of the Boovs is quite clever. Humor is constantly injected in the film to the delight of the viewers. Technically, the movie is consistently good with a superb soundtrack which allows the audience to recall the film way after the credits .
The film is about valuing family and friendship. It shows how a mother and a daughter struggled and sacrificed to find each other, inspiring even an alien to do the same. An alien who did not believe in friendship realized the blessings of having friends to enjoy life’s journey  and successes. There is value in recognizing the presence of friends and their contribution to our growth and happiness. This can be best achieved if there is full awareness and acceptance of oneself first. Overall, Home is an entertaining film. But parental guidance may be required by young viewers for some vulgar humor.