Make no mistake, some out there may be turned away from this avenue when I mention Disney and cartoon in the same sentence.  However, Tron: Uprising stays very true to the entertainment level of its predecessors while bringing viewers into a wonderfully animated environment that combines elements of the traditional ink and sketch along with the more modern use of computer-generated imagery.  The creative team behind this project has managed to seamlessly blend the two while combining a solid story that falls at least somewhat in line with the last film.

To catch you up to speed, the last film (Tron: Legacy) partially covered the fall of Tron, his transformation to the evil Rinzler, and then back to Tron by the end, as he slowly sank into the aquatic depths of the Grid he was sworn to protect.  The timeline of this series is a little difficult to put my finger on though.  CLU was wiped out at the end of Legacy along with what pretty much looked like the entire landscape of the Grid.  In this new series, however, CLU is still up and about in a post-Tron age while a new program named Beck seeks to carry on the uphill fight for freedom.  While the upstart underdog story is one we’ve previously seen used in other genres, it serves its purpose well here and is executed with believability.  Beck has his faults as a program and is certainly not invulnerable, giving the show a welcomed degree on unexpectedness.

A good story, however, can be sunk by a roster of insufficient acting talent.  Thankfully, we don’t even have to come close to worrying about that here.  Maintaining casting continuity, Bruce Boxleitner, the original Tron, renews the roll while Elijah Wood provides the voice of our hero, Beck.  Also on the roster is Mandy Moore, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Paul Reubens, and sci-fi standout Lance Henriksen as the evil General Tesler.  The well-rounded group of actors breathe life into the cold digital environment, which spills over into other aspects of the show.  The action is solid and the story is one that I am eager to see unfold.  My only complaint is that I hope a little more explanation is given to the continuity and timeline of events following Tron: Legacy.  We saw CLU vaporized on the big screen, though his presence is still mentioned here.  That aside, Tron: Uprising is a wonderfully animated piece of work that is candy to the eyes and engaging to the mind.

Disney XD debuted Tron: Uprising on April 30th and will resume the series on June 7th at 9:00 pm Eastern.  To watch the 31-minute uninterrupted premiere episode, please visit the Tron Sector fan site at http://www.tron-sector.com/.

Overall:

Film 

The movie follows an array of characters and their real life troubles and somehow, in a connected turn of events, each turbulent occurrence has a connection to the next.  From a cheating husband and his suicidal mistress to a pregnant porn star stuck in an elevator, this movie is a chick flick through and through.  Some people get offended by that phrase, but what can I say?  Stereotypes happen for a reason and women will relate a lot more to this film than the guys will.  It is what it is.

The acting is performed quite well in this picture so there are no qualms there.  I found the flow somewhat choppy at times though, but if you bear with it, you will come to understand that everything in the movie has its place.  Still, I had a difficult time caring about the characters’ plights.  The development was only surface-deep at best for some of the people, which left me feeling rather unsympathetic toward them.  As for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, I loved this guy’s work in 500 Days of Summer which has come to be one of my favorite films.  As for his duty in Women in Trouble, I honestly cannot comment.  Why?  I checked the credits and found he is connected to the character ‘Bert Rodriguez.’  I have no recollection of his performance or that character in this movie…and I just watched it an hour ago.  Either he is on and off the screen in the blink of an eye or his makeup is done so well that his likeness was unrecognizable. 

The film mostly follows Carla Gugino’s character (Elektra Luxx; look for a sequel this year whose title reflects the character’s namesake) and that of Palicki’s (Holly Rocket), though, as previously mentioned, there are other stories all taking place around the same time, all having an impact on most if not all the characters in a classic case of six degrees of separation.  All in all, this 95-minute production felt more like 120 minutes that just wouldn’t end soon enough.  It has its high points, but this movie lacked punch, and while containing some depth, just didn’t have enough to keep me glued to the screen.

Video 

Coming in with an AVC encode in 1080p, I was a little disappointed that those attributes didn’t deliver a more solid picture.  While I didn’t pick up on a significant amount of grain, there was this gentle haze that prevented full pore-revealing details to be visible throughout the entire movie.  The aspect ratio is shown at 2.35:1, although the visual softness provided enough distraction to keep your eyes from focusing on this attribute.  Other than that, the film’s variety of colors were vibrantly displayed amidst a backdrop of several mood-changing scenes.

Audio 

Arguably the greatest aspect of this disc is the audio.  While it won’t knock your socks off, it is impressive when it needs to be.  This was most prevalent during one sequence when a commotion could be heard downstairs.  The rear speakers brought forth the somewhat mumbled unrest in the lower floor of the home while the two actresses upstairs had dialogue delivered through the front channels.  Ambient sounds are also brilliantly sent through the rear channels, filling the air with noises appropriate for the scene at hand.  As for the subwoofer, expect that piece of equipment to lie rather dormant.

Special Features      

I am happy to report that high def technology is not wasted on the folks that put this disc together.  Each special feature comes to us in at least 720 resolution (the pool teaser), while the rest are in 1080.  Still, there’s not a lot here, nor anything too inspiring.

• Behind the Scenes with Holly Rocket and Elektra Luxx –  Gugino (Luxx) and Palicki (Rocket) take time to do a mock discussion of what Women in Trouble is about.  This did have some fairly decent comedic content, but was way too short (1:48). 
• Pool Teaser Trailer – The actresses of Women in Trouble disrobe down to their underwear in a swimming pool.  Are they hot?  Yes.  Is this entertaining?  Not for long (1:06).
• Deleted Scenes – You will find a total of five missing scenes here, all done in a therapy monologue style, all of which make me want to slam my head against a wall.  These are mock video recordings of real Hollywood personalities (6:42).

Final Thoughts 

In the end, this writer wasn’t entertained much from this production.  I did want to mention the extremely poor color choice used in the disc’s menu.  The fonts are done in white with a selected item appearing in faint pink.  The problem is the two colors are so close that it’s often difficult to decipher what menu option is highlighted and what is not.  I understand their pink went with the color scheme, but it also provided a minor and needless bit of frustration that can be easily removed.  To women I say ‘rent this,’ and to the guys I say ‘pass.’  Since there are more women than men in the world, I probably should base my recommendation off the former instead of the latter.  I just think that there are so many better movies out there than Women in Trouble for any audience, that this may not be the best decision for a rental.  Nevertheless, if your curiosity is peaked, I say have at it. 

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Written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez (Snakes on a Plane, The Eye), this critically acclaimed film follows a day in the life of a porn star, a flight attendant, a psychiatrist, a masseuse, a bartender and a pair of call girls — all with one thing in common: trouble. While this group of LA women couldn’t be more different, one day will transform their troubles and alter their lives forever. Women in Trouble boasts a knockout ensemble cast including Carla Gugino (Watchmen, American Gangster, Sin City), Emmanuelle Chriqui (You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Cadillac Records, “Entourage”), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer, 10 Things I Hate About You), Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights”, “Spin City”, The Brothers McMullen), Simon Baker (“The Mentalist”, The Devil Wears Prada), Adrianne Palicki (“Friday Night Lights”, “South Beach”), Elizabeth Berkeley (Any Given Sunday, Showgirls, “Saved by the Bell”) and Marley Shelton (A Perfect Getaway, W., Grindhouse, The Last Kiss).
 
Debuting at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival, Women in Trouble garnered resounding critical acclaim including Playboy hailing the saucy movie as “hilarious, touching and revelatory”. Bonus features on this outrageous comedy include deleted scenes, teaser trailers and Spanish subtitles.