Rio (2011)

When Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he takes off on an adventure in Rio de Janeiro. [imdb]

Nominated for 1 Oscar:

Best Original Song

We can all agree how messy this years's Original Song category was, with only 2 nominees... ridiculous! But this nomination for the film was the only motivation I had to see Rio, and it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Getting back to the song: it's ok, it's nicely used in the film, especially at the ending and, as I still have to see Muppets, I can't say if it deserves to win or not.

Rio doesn't really bring anything new to the table; it's colorful, but otherwise nothing too impressive in the visual department. The characters are nice, but not so memorable, and Jesse Eisenberg's voice for the leading character was distracting to me: I don't think he was the right choice to carry the film. On the good side is the some of the writing: there were 2 or 3 scenes where I laughed (I think all of them had to do with the monkeys) and there is a REALLY touching scene that maybe should've been exploited more: when the chain is cut and Blu is left behind watching as the others fly away... it was unexpectedly heartbreaking and you could feel the loneliness of the character.

My rating for the film: 6.5/10. Could've been better; unfortunately the human characters are poorly constructed.