Megamind

Megamind, in theatres November 5th is Dreamworks' answer to Despicable Me.  Will Ferrell  voices the titular likable villain and Brad Pitt is Metro Man, the Superman-esque guardian of Meto City (or Metrocity, rhymes with atrocity) according to Megamind's charmingly unique diction.

Megamind and Metro Man have both grown up on Earth as rivals, having been sent away from dying world's at the same time.  Things are pretty predictable as Megamind comes up with some devious plot to kidnap the Lois Lane type - Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey) or undermine his nemesis in some other way and Metro Man saves the day with ease.  David Cross is Megamind's faithful fishbowl minion, Jonah Hill is more or less himself in the form of Hal, the lovestruck camera man boy, and Ben Stiller, who executive produces makes a cameo as Bernard, the librarian.

It's looking to be another day of trickery and Roxanne Ritchi rescuing for the two rivals until it appears that Megamind has inexplicably and unexpectedly succeeded in eliminating Metro Man from the picture.  To say more would be to ruin some of this film's fun surprises.

In some ways, this film has a lot in common with Despicable Me.  The villain is the likable star of the show, with possible redemption on the plate.  Make no mistake, however, this is it's own film in every way, satirizing the super hero / super villain genre in a rollicking funny adventure set to 80's rock.  When I first saw the casting choice of Ferrell, I was dubious.  When Will Ferrel is Will Ferrel, he is immature in a way that I don't often find funny in the least.  Thankfully, here, he is 100% Megamind, eccentric alien genius villain who occasionally has bouts of melonkalee.  Brad Pitt exudes cheesy all American hero from outer space, Tina Fey plays the female reporter in distress-but-not-really role perfectly and Jonah Hill is Jonah Hill.

Thanks to some very selective trailers (though there are some new ones surfacing that you should avoid at all costs) there are plenty of clever twists.  Not so much unforeseeable as just unexpected due to the expectations built up from what little Dreamworks has said about the movie up until now.  Even having known about some of them before hand, I still found plenty to enjoy here.

While no one has yet come close to touching Pixar, in my opinion, it is gratifying to see animated films worth seeing come out of other studios lately.  See it in 3D if you can - it adds to the fun.

***** (5/5 stars)

Grave of the Fireflies

A Japanese animated film, Grave of the Fireflies, produced by Studio Ghibli in 1988, is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name.  It is told as flashbacks by the spirits of two young Japanese children.  The version I watched is the English Dub.  It has received high critical praise in both Japan and the United States.

Seita (J. Robert Spencer) who is somewhere around 11 or 12 years old, and his young sister Setsuko (Rhoda Chrosite) who is about five, are living in Kobe, Japan near the end of WWII with their mother Ash Ketchum (Veronica Taylor) while their father serves in the navy.  One day, American B-52's firebomb their village, leaving them motherless.  While waiting for their father's return, they are taken in by a distant aunt (Amy Jones).  Though she feeds and shelters them, the aunt makes it increasingly clear that the two semi-orphans are not welcome in her home.  Before she can come out and explicitly kick them to the streets, Seita and Setsuko strike out on their own, doing their best to survive in a world with little food or help available.

While seemingly created as a children's story, the imagery and subject matter is quite graphic and pulls no punches when it comes to dealing with the horrible side effects of war head on.  It is a look at WWII from a perspective that Americans don't often see in film, and is a quite powerful on at that.  I found it very interesting that though it is obvious that the Americans are the enemy in this movie, it is war itself that is villainized rather than the United States.  Unless it was changed in the dub, there is no verbal mention of the enemy by name and the only symbolism is the B-52's.

Though a thoroughly depressing film, Grave of the Fireflies is a cinematic triumph and historical treasure.  It is not an easy film to watch by any means, but it is a powerful reminder of consequences, putting a human face on tragedy caused by war.  It's hard to watch since the ending is given away by the beginning, but at the same time, it's easier knowing where it is headed.  I would highly recommend this movie, especially if you have an interest in history.  But only if you know what you're getting yourself into.

***** (5/5 stars)

Men in Black

A favorite of mine, this 1997 film adaptation of the lesser known graphic novel The Men in Black was on television and I couldn't resist watching it again.

James Edwards (Will Smith) is a New York City cop who, after chasing down a surprisingly agile suspect with some unusual eyelids, is approached by Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) of The Men In Black - a secret agency in charge of policing and monitoring alien activity on Earth.  After his memory of recent events is wiped, Edwards is invited to come to an interview the next day and subsequently becomes Agent J, K's new partner, just in time to get himself caught up in a situation in which the outcome could very well be Earth's destruction by an alien warship.  Tony Shalhoub makes an appearance as Jeebs, the slippery alien pawn shop owner, and Rip Torn stars as Zed, chief of MIB.

The film plays out in a comic book style that even non comic book fans will enjoy, though if you don't have at least some interest in sci-fi it might not be your cup of tea.  The whole thing is wonderfully polished in an enjoyable way - it's obvious that the actors all had a great time filming, and that fun seeps effortlessly out of the screen.  Really, what is not to like about a cocky Will Smith and a straight-faced Tommy Lee Jones kicking alien butt under the executive production of Steven Spielberg?  The special effects stand the test of time (minus one very offensive instance of green screening) and the story is there.  There are plenty of interesting ideas played with throughout and there's enough action to keep anyone interested.

I've never heard of anyone who doesn't like this movie, though I'm sure there are some detractors out there, and with good reason.  While not a classic masterpiece, it's nearly perfect on the enjoyability and quality scales.  If you're behind the times and never got around to seeing this one, do yourself a favor and rectify that situation post haste.

***** (5/5 stars)

Inception

Inception, from the complex mind of Christopher Nolan, is an original story and the film that many seemed to be counting on to redeem a summer of (mostly) less than stellar movies.

Inception takes place in a world where entering someone else's dreams is a somewhat common occurrence, using technology developed by the military for training purposes.  Dom (Leonardo DiCaprio) is one of the best at what he does - entering dreams for the purpose of extracting sensitive information.  He, along with his team of Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) the researcher, Ariadne (Ellen Page) the dreamworld architect, Eames (Tom Hardy) the forger, Yusef (Dileep Rao) the chemist are about to embark on an even more difficult mission - that of inception, or the planting of an idea is someone's mind.  Dom is desperately trying to make it back home, but is unable to because of false criminal charges.  He hopes that his powerful new client Saito (Ken Watanabe) can deliver on his promise to make this obstacle disappear should Dom and his team complete the nearly impossible.  The target is Robert (Cillian Murphy), heir to his father's (Pete Postlethwaite) empire that Saito wants broken up.  Marion Cotillard also appears as Dom's deceased wife whose memory haunts haunts him, and Michael Caine makes an appearance as her father.

Confused yet?  You're not alone, though Nolan has a unique talent for creating complex, intricate, and confusing stories that can be understood in a straightforward manner as long as you pay attention, as he did in Memento and The Prestige.  Inception has the multi-level complexity of Primer, but with one important difference.  Normal people can understand it.  Inception hits that near perfect balance of acting, story telling, action, and visual candy.  Free to work in a Matrix-like dreamworld, Nolan shows considerable restraint, keeping things relatively realistic despite the fantastic nature of the story.  The action is tense and almost non-stop, whether it is physical fire fights, or mental anguish.  DiCaprio gives a strong performance as does Gordon-Levitt.  I can only hope we see him again soon as Nolan's Riddler.

It's hard to discuss more of why this movie works without giving away key elements, but trust me, it does.  In lesser hands, something like this could have caved in on itself, but Nolan and his cast deliver.  The ending is what most people will be talking about as Nolan has constructed this movie in such a way that there are many possible interpretations, including that the entire movie is actually a dream.  For those who have seen it, my opinion is that the ending is as straightforward as you hope and that the final wavering doubt at the end was planted there by Nolan as a nod to his own creation of inception, planting that seed of doubt in the viewer's mind until it grows, making you question what you thought you knew was real, even though it is.

See this movie.  Please.

***** (5/5 stars)

Mary and Max

Mary and Max is a recent claymation endeavor hailing from the land down under.  I was intrigued by the first trailer I saw and knew that I would have to watch it when it came to DVD.  Currently it is available for instant streaming via Netflix so it was quite convenient to do so.  With an impressive 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has been well received by critics and has been the most successful all Aussie film in recent times.

We are first introduced to Mary Daisy Dinkle (Toni Collette) as an awkward eight year old living in a small Australian town with her consistently tipsy mother and father who spends most his time in the shed, stuffing road kill.  Curious to find out whether babies are found at the bottom of beer glasses in America, the same place they come from in Australia, she writes to the first American her finger lands on in the phone book.  A little while later, her letter reaches Max Jerry Horowitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an overweight, 44 year old atheistic Jewish man with Aspergers who lives in New York City.  And so an unusual friendship is born.

The story is told mostly through the two characters' letters and the narration of Barry Humphries.  Aesthetically and thematically I would make some comparisons to early Tim Burton as well as Roald Dahl.  Though featuring a young child and being an animated film, this is not for children.  There are a number of very dark themes explored, such as depression, suicide, alcoholism, mental breakdowns, and neglect.  There are also a number of distinctly adult situations.  Despite the dark content and color pallet, this is a disturbing but cute story.  Eric Bana also appears as Damien, Mary's eventual romantic interest.

This movie doesn't have a distinct plot, but is instead a touching tale of two people struggling through life and learning from each other.  In the same way that The Miracle Maker succeeded, it is easy to forget that you are watching lumps of clay, as the stop motion figures become more human than most human actors.  There is a comedic overtone throughout the movie, though it is usually of the darker variety.  For example, a running theme is how Max's many fish meet their unfortunate demise, one after another.

In many ways, Mary and Max is depressing and does not have a traditional happy ending, but it is too good to pass up.

***** (5/5 stars)

The Truman Show

An old favorite of mine, this movie is a bit odd, just how I like them.  Following such modern slapstick comedies as Liar Liar, The Mask, and the Ace Ventura movies, The Truman Show, from '94, is the first foray into something a bit more serious for Jim Carrey - something that he has continued with in later movies such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Like Eternal Sunshine, though this is something of a serious movie, it seriously straddles the bizarre fence.

Truman (Carrey) is more or less your average guy, or so he thinks.  He lives in a small seaside town with his wife Hannah (Laura Linney), next to some friendly neighbors.  Every day he goes to work at the epitome of stereotypical average professions - selling insurance.  Whenever he's having a tough day his best friend Louis (Noah Emmerich) shows up on cue with a couple brewskies.  What he doesn't know is that his entire life is the masterpiece of director Christof (Ed Harris), broadcast live, 24 hours a day, since the moment he was born.  Everyone around him is either an actor or works on the massive set that is his life - The Truman show, perhaps the most watched television show in history.  Paul Giammati also appears as a control room director and  Harry Shearer cameos as a news anchor.  With a conspiracy of this magnitude, it is only a matter of time before Truman realizes that something is not quite Kosher.

When this movie was released, it was surely taken as extremely speculative fiction.  A voyeuristic television show into the privacy of one man's deceptive reality, financed by hilariously blatant product placements doesn't really sound that far fetched today.  While we have never had something quite so over the top and that crossed so many moral and ethical boundaries, I dare say that there have been some that have come pretty darn close.  Big Brother and Denpa Shonen come to mind.  There is certainly a bit of irony in the fact that we are watching, entertained, by this movie about exploiting a man, while rooting for him to "win" against those who are exploiting him.  The movie itself is genius on many levels and can be viewed as commentary on society, entertainment, and religion.  Christof has been paralleled with both God and Satan, and the ethical questions this movie raises are impossible to miss.

Despite the strangeness of it all, this is a movie I feel I can recommend to just about anyone.  If you have not seen it yet, you probably should.

***** (5/5 stars)

The Shawshank Redemption

Put this one on the list of movies that I knew were good but that I had never gotten around to seeing, despite the fact that everyone else and their mother saw it years ago.  Hailing from way back in '94, this movie is based on a story by Stephen King - a fact that may seem confusing as there are no supernatural or horror elements to be found.

Tim Robbins is Andy, a banker sentenced to life in Shawshank Prison for killing his wife and her lover, despite his insistence that he is innocent.  Once inside, he finds friendship with the con-man on campus, Red (Morgan Freeman).  And so begins a very long story about the life inside a 1950's prison.

Did I mention that this is a long story?  The narrative stretches about twenty years from start to finish and Frank Darabont is in no hurry to rush through his directorial debut.  It's not the longest film I've seen, but at 2:22, it's certainly not short.  This is not, however, a negative.  The story's passage of time becomes much more real with the added length and there is enough happening that it doesn't drag.  The underlying theme throughout seems to be that of freedom - both literally and metaphorically, as Andy does everything he can to remain free, despite his imprisonment.

Despite Andy being the main character, the story is almost about Morgan Freeman's character of Red who is recounting life in prison since the time he met him.  Many of the characters introduces are rather one dimensional, but in this case I think that works.  Being in prison seems to have reduced most of the inmates to less than three dimensional beings and it is the few that the story focuses on are those who are more determined to be more than a man in prison.  Bob Gunton also stars as a suitably hateable Warden.

I thought the whole movie was quite well done.  Believable performances, fantastic pacing, an interesting plot, and an ending that avoids cheese and disappointment.  Robbins pulls off the character of a man who cannot always be perfectly predictable well, and Freeman is, as always, inspiring.

The Shawshank Redemption is easily a modern classic.  If you are like me and just haven't gotten around to seeing it yet, I would recommend you remedy this situation.

***** (5/5 stars)

Toy Story 3

Fifteen years ago, Toy Story hit the big screen.  I remember it was one of the few movies my family actually went to see in theatres.  With that film, a new era of computer animation began and Pixar introduced itself as the new studio that would quickly become a legacy with an impressive 100% track record.  A few years later, Pixar brought back the beloved toys with the first Pixar sequel.  While I don't remember Toy Story 2 as well as the first, it performed even better in the box office.  Eleven long years after that, Toy Story 3 has finally arrived - with Toy Story still being the only Pixar franchise to get a sequel (though others are in the works).

Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, John Ratzenberger (who has incidentally appeared in every one of Pixar's movies), Wallace Shawn, Jeff Pidgeon, Jodi Benson, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, and Laurie Metcalf all return to voice their characters from the previous two films.  The part of Slinky Dog is taken over by Blake Clark, friend of the late Jim Varney who originally played the part.

New additions to the already massively stellar cast include Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal, Whoopi Goldberg, Erik von Detten, and Richard Kind, among others.

Toy Story 3 acknowledges the time that has passed, with the toys' owner, Andy (Morris) now grown up and getting ready to leave for college - something that many of the original audience of Toy Story are doing or have done not too long ago.  The toys, after many years of faithful playtime, are now relegated to a perpetually closed toy box, desperate for some time with Andy before he leaves forever.  At the same time they are pondering their fate which could include years of storage in the attic, eBay, or even the trash.  The underlying theme of wanting to belong has not changed much in fifteen years, but really, what else do you think would be a pressing issue to toys?

Through a series of unfortunate events, the gang finds themselves facing a fourth option - being donated to a day care.  Though in what place a day care as elaborate as Sunnyside exists, I'm not sure.  The new place brings the introduction of a plethora of new toys including Michael Keaton as a fabulous Ken who, surprise surprise, feels automatically drawn to Barbie (Benson).  The cheerful facade, however, is deceptive  The movie which began as a drama of loss, uncertainty, and wanting to belong - with Jessie (Cusack) reliving the horrible events of her previous ownership all over again - becomes a prison escape film with hilarious as well as deadly consequences.

Pixar and the original audience has matured since '95 and this movie reflects it - in fact, at the showing I saw, probably 75% of the attendees were over 18.  It is still a children's movie, but exemplifies Pixar's ability to create adult oriented content in a way that is still enjoyable by children and can in fact be enjoyed on different levels by different people at the same time.  There is real peril show here and real emotion.  Pixar is probably the only film studio to successfully evoke tears from adults over animated toys.  Try as I might, I can't come up with a single negative thing about this movie.  I'm sure if I watched it again, scene by scene, I could come up with a few bad things to say about it, but only because nothing can ever be perfect.

The big question that everyone asks is where in the trilogy this movie ranks.  I can say easily - and I think that most will agree with me - that it is much better than the second.  The first one holds such nostalgic value that it's hard to judge it fairly, but Toy Story 3 may just manage to surpass it's grandfather, if only slightly.

Hands down this is a fantastic movie that anyone in their right mind can enjoy.  Pixar has yet to disappoint and I hope this trend continues for many more years.

***** (5/5 stars)

Inglourious Basterds

This film, despite what the trailers will have you believe, is not about Brad Pitt killing Nazis with a heavy southern drawl while Hitler (Martin Wuttke) comically screams out "Nein!" multiple times.  Instead, it is about the power of film and how the Third Reich could have met it's end in this revisionist history in which Pitt and his Nazi killing Basterds play a part.

The story opens with  Colonel Hans Landa (award winning Christoph Waltz) murdering a hidden Jewish family in German occupied France.  The teenaged member of the family, Shoshanna (Mélanie Laurent), manages to escape - probably allowed to do so in order to spread fear of the "Jew Hunter" - and the stage is set.

Three years later we're introduced to Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt) and his group of Nazi killing Basterds.  The Basterds are primarily composed of German Jews from America, returning in retaliation and include "The Bear Jew" (Eli Roth), who likes to dispatch his enemies with a baseball bat and the nefarious ex-Nazi, Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger).  Each member of the team has a goal of 100 enemy scalps and the few that they allow to escape, do so with a swastika etched into their head so that no one may forget who they really are.  Shoshanna has taken on a new name and new life operating a movie theatre in Paris where she meets heroic Nazi sniper, Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl).  She determines to use a Nazi-filled film premier celebrating Zoller's exploits as an opportunity to exact revenge - something that the British and the Basterds are also planning to do with the help of German actress and double agent, Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger).

From the getgo it's obvious why this movie is over two and a half hours long.  Tarantino employs a mechanism that many directors seem to have forgotten in the interest of making them easier to sell overseas - dialogue.  He not only trusts his audience to follow along with more than pretty pictures, he trusts them to read, as the only non-foreign movie that comes to mind that uses more subtitles is The Passion of the Christ.

The plot is complex, but not complicated.  Despite the many characters and sub plots I did not find myself often trying to figure out who was who or what was what.  It's meticulously thought out and developed.  Brad Pitt may be the star of the trailers, and seeing him try to speak Italian while continuing with his over the top Southern accent is certainly fun, but the real star of show is Waltz.  The Austrian actor plays the cold hearted but keenly intelligent killer like no one else could (though Leonardo DiCaprio was originally considered for the role).  He flawlessly (as far as I can tell) switches from French to English, to German to Italian without missing a beat or stepping out of character for a moment.  That is impressive.

Artistically, this is obviously a Tarantino film, and one of his best.  It may be cliche to say, but here is one director not afraid to create what he wants, how he wants it, whether or not it follows with convention.  I especially liked his use of non-storyline expository elements when the audience is treated to some piece of information for our benefit alone, like pausing to label a new character in an almost Burn Notice style.

The ending is one of the best I have ever seen and may come as a shock to anyone who does not realize just how far from actual history this story strays.  Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, but sometimes fiction is so much more satisfying.

***** (5/5 stars)

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Roald Dahl.  The fact that one of the strangest genius children's authors in history wrote the book this movie is adapted from was enough to get me excited about this one.  A unique film style further whet my appetite and a fantastic cast featuring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Jarvis Cocker, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe and Helen McCrory under the quirky direction of Wes Anderson sealed the deal on this film as a must-see.

The film opens with Mr. Fox (Clooney) and his wife Felicity (Streep) raiding a chicken house when Fox's over abundance of confidence gets them trapped in a cage.  It's that moment that Felicity reveals that she is with cub and makes him promise that if they get out of this situation that he would leave this crazy profession for something safer.  Fast forward two years and Fox is a writer, living a safe but boring life with Felicity and his *makes odd hand motion* different son Ash (Schwartzman) in a hole.  Fox is antzy, however, and moves his family to a much more auspicious tree surrounded by three of the most dangerous farms around.  The temptation of the challenge proves to much, however, and Fox is back at his old profession, soon bringing the wrath of farmers Boggis (Robin Hurlstone), Bunce (Hugo Guinness), and Bean (Gambon) down on the Fox family and the rest of the animals.

The story telling style is a bit odd, jumping forward abruptly as it skips from chapter to chapter, complete with titles, kind of like the way those awesome mice introduced each section of Babe, but even more so.  The animation is also not traditional as it is some incredible stop motion work that calls to mind Gumby, but so much more complex and intriguing.  It really is a work of genius.  The story certainly show's it's British roots as the humour is just a little different in the way that you know I'm talking about.  It may be a children's story, but it is just as much for adults as it is for children with some subtleties and situations that are more mature.  And the characters certainly "cuss" a lot.

It might not be for everyone, with it's less than straight narrative and plenty of odd moments that the film stops on momentarily just to hurry past again, but I loved it.  It was fresh, different, and intelligent.  Amazingly, the characters were not overpowered by highly recognizable voices of the various stars as often seems to be the case with some animated films, like Monsters Vs. Aliens.  All in all, this was a good solid movie suitable and enjoyable by all ages.

***** (5/5 stars)

My Neighbor Totoro

Of all of Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli productions, this one feels made with the youngest audience in mind.  That's not to imply that on another level, it isn't perfectly suited for adults.  My neighbor Totoro is a very realistic (though fantastic) portrayal of 1950's country life in Japan and is the story of sisters Satsuki and Mei voiced by real life sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning.  As a side note, this recent re-dubbing seems to be the only real complaint people have against this film, calling it all sorts of horrible.  If you have seen the original, it may bother you, but I think this is mostly a case of people having an attachment to what they heard first since I didn't find anything wrong with their performance.

Satsuki and Mei have just moved into a new house with their father (Timothy Daly) in the country in order to closer to their long hospital bound mother (Lea Salonga).  They find themselves in a fixer-upper that caretaker Granny (Pat Carroll) reveals to be haunted.  The girls soon find themselves meeting the wood spirits that haunt the house, including the giant troll creature, Totoro, who they befriend in an odd way.

Unlike most of Miyazaki's films, My Neighbor Totoro does not have much of a straight forward plot or even any underlying theme.  It is a peek into the life of these children and it is pure magic.  When I say pure, I use it to mean both complete as well as innocent.  Not even Where the Wild Things Are captures a child's mind quite this well.  The thing that most struck me about this movie was the ambiguity.  Miyazaki is known for this fantastic magical elements in a strange world, but they are always real.  I saw nothing in this film that could not be interpreted as being in the girls' imagination.  Some scenes were a bit more of a stretch than others, but still all have that flavor of young imagination.  It's this feeling that really brings out the magic, as ironic as that sounds.

Miyazaki's talent for treating animated characters as real actors shines here.  His attention to detail really brings the whole thing to life in a way that is not often duplicated.  This is a dazzling film that is one of the best family films I have ever seen, despite it's simplicity, or perhaps because of it.  All I know is that I really want to ride on a Catbus.

***** (5/5 stars)

Kick-Ass

Despite such promising blockbusters as Alice in Wonderland and Iron Man 2 this year, Kick-Ass, adapted from Mark Millar's comic book series, topped my list of most anticipated films.  I haven't read the graphic novels, but the trailers and Chloë Grace Moretz's small but impressive performance in 500 Days of Summer were more than enough to have me chomping at the bit.

Kick-Ass is the story about an average kid - Dave (Aaron Johnson) - who gets mugged one time too many and decides it's about time someone became a superhero.  With nothing but a green costume and good intentions, he transforms into Kick-Ass.  A few chapters later, he's mixed up in some things far above his tousled head as he inadvertently pisses off the city's biggest crime lord (Mark Strong) and is introduced to two slightly more real and much more talented costumed vigallantes, Hit Girl (Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage).  A little down the road the mysterious Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) enters the picture as well.

What follows is beautiful carnage.  Hit Girl totally steals the show.  She's like The Bride from Kill Bill in the body of Dakota Fanning, but even more awesome.  Her gymnastics put Jackie Chan to shame and her mouth is dirtier than the Thames.  Oh, and she's only eleven.  She's not all killing and swearing though as her acting shows a maturity and skill beyond most adults.  If she can avoid the traditional pitfalls of being a child star, she'd destined for great things.

Nicholas Cage as Batman-esque Big Daddy is surprisingly amusing, yet also, well, kick ass.  In fact, pretty much the only aspect of this film that isn't is Kick Ass himself.  Being dork with big dreams doesn't make Dave much cooler, though he does get a couple scenes near the end that are all kinds of wish fulfillment.  Mark Strong fits comfortably in the role of villain and Plasse plays up Red Mist's disturbed life decently.  The soundtrack too is rollicking good fun.  The scene set to Banana Splits is memorably fantastic.

Just in case the R rating got past you, this is not a film for children by any means, despite starring young actors.  This has been the cause of recent controversy with Roger Ebert calling it "morally reprehensible" and any number of bloggers calling into the question the appropriateness of having such a young girl as Moretz engage in such foul language and carefree violence.  Personally, the part of the movie I found the most morally objectionable was the teenage sex scene that felt a bit tacked on and a little tacky.  After all, the people they're killing have got it coming, and really it is a strong language kind of situation.  The actor's can certainly separate their roles and their real lives.  If parents are concerned about Hit Girl being a bad influence on their children, they should be more concerned about the fact that they're taking their children to R rated movies.

Controversy aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.  I'm sure there are comic book purists upset at the changes to the material, but from what I've read, the changes were an improvement.  The parts that were changed or taken out would have elicited a "that's just wrong," and not in a good way.  Maybe if I had read the comic I would feel somewhat different, but I found this to be the most entertaining movie of the year so far.  Beware of strong language and ultra violent violence, but if that's not enough to stop you, see it, now.

***** (5/5 stars)

The Great Mouse Detective

The Great Mouse Detective is an oft overlooked Disney classic.  Hailing from 1986, The film is based on the Basil of Baker Street book series by Eve Titus and is a reimagining of the story of Sherlock Homes with mice as the protagonists.  The title character, Basil (Barrie Inghamn), lives in the basement of the infamous Baker Street address and shares many similarities with the great detective that lives above him.

Our story begins with a sweet scene between Susanne Pollatschek in her one and only role as young Olivia Flaversham, and Olivia's toymaker father, Hiram.  Hiram is played by the great voice actor Alan Young who possibly is most recognized as the voice of Scrooge McDuck.  The touching moment quickly turns frightening as Hiram is violently kidnapped by a peg-legged bat - the delightfully neurotic Fidget (Candy Candido).  Leaving to seek the help of Basil in finding her father, Olivia ends up lost in London until she is found by Dr. Dawson (Val Bettin).  Together they locate the great mouse detective.  And thus begins a madcap adventure which leads them against flamboyant evil genius, Ratigan, voiced by the late great Vincent Price in his all time favorite villain role.

Despite being a G rated, animated Disney film starring mice, this is a surprisingly intelligent, witty, well executed piece of cinematography that is far more mature than most kid flicks today.  I was surprised to see the G rating - You would be hard pressed to get a G rating for a film that includes alcohol, smoking, violent death, and even overt sexuality.  Not to mention what would be labeled as "frightening imagery and scenes of peril."  Make no mistake, these knives are sharp and the tiny guns shoot real bullets.  This is also, for the most part, not a musical, making it stand even further apart from it's Disney kin.

Barrie Inghamn produces a performance of wild eccentric genius that would give Robert Downey Jr. a run for his money in his portrayal of the timeless hero.  The escape scene is pure genius and reminds me a bit of Action Man's talent of seeing all mathematical possibilities at once.  The real treat, however, is the final fight sequence, showcasing the first extended use of computer generated imagery - by which I mean a computer controlled a robotic hand to draw the sequence.  Despite the primitive start, it is executed beautifully and the animation still holds it's own against today's animated films.

If you haven't reached the point where you feel a G rated cartoon is beneath you - and I pray you never get to that point - this is an excellent throwback to a time before the shclock shoved to kids these days.

***** (5/5 stars)

Bruce Almighty

I had seen this movie multiple times, or so I had thought, but it wasn't until I popped it into the DVD player this weekend and was presented with a beginning I had no recollection of that I realized that somehow I had managed to never see the entire thing.  So it was an unexpected treat to finally see this near masterpiece in it's entirety.

When I first saw the trailer for a comedy about Morgan Freeman as God giving Jim Carrey his power, a few words came to mind - sacrilegious, stupid, raunchy, irreverent, etc.  I expected something along the lines of The Mask, but with religion taking the blunt of Carrey's often crude style.  I was wrong.

Bruce Almighty tells the story of Bruce Nolan (Carrey), a hard working news reporter who tries to be a decent person and do the right thing.  Despite this, he seems to constantly get the short end of the stick.  When that stick finally breaks, so does Bruce, taking it all out on both his girlfriend Grace (Jennifer Aniston) and God, claiming that the big guy either doesn't know what he's doing up there or he's like a kid with a magnifying glass, having fun with the inhabitants of an ant hill.  Much to his surprise, God answers him in person, offering Bruce his job to see if he could do any better.

There are the predictable antics that Jim Carrey is so known for as he has a little bit too much fun with his new found power, but it never delves into idiotic - unless you count the monkey.  He rights a couple wrongs, plays with his food, gives Grace the night of her life, and serves sweet justice to his arch nemesis Evan Baxter (Steve Carell).  Being a generous, as well as lazy, deity, he offers a sweeping "yes" to all the prayers that had been piling up.  It doesn't take long for him to realize that there are consequences to his actions as his life spirals out of control.

The film never crosses the line in either direction, being neither preachy nor heretical.  It makes some some surprisingly lucid observations and offers a positive, yet neutral, message.  The overall moral of the story is something along the lines of just because you're not getting the answers you want doesn't mean God isn't listening, and don't blame him for shortcomings that you are perfectly capable of working on yourself.  And don't forget the whole free will thing.  On the shallow end of the pool it's a charmingly funny comedy with enough Jim Carrey to satisfy any fan, and on the other end it's a nice spring board into something deeper.

Despite receiving negative critical opinion, I add this film to the must see list.  It was labeled as wasted potential, but I praise it for showing restraint and becoming a little bit more than just a comedy.  As Bruce and the Big Guy would say - "It's goood!"

***** (5/5 stars)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs falls under the category of beloved children's classic picture book turned into a full length feature film.  This is often a bad idea.  Thankfully this is not the case with this one.  The stellar cast is reminiscent of an episode of SNL.  Led by Bill Hader and Anna Faris, the voice talents include Mr. T, Bruce Campbell, Andy Samberg, Will Forte, Neil Patrick Harris, Benjamin Bratt, Al Roker and more.

The 1978 book, by Judi Barrett, tells of the town Chewandswallow, whose weather is highly unusual - raining things like soup and juice and snowing mashed potatoes.  One day the weather changed - the food grew into dangerous sizes, forcing the town to evacuate.  The movie faithfully takes that premise and expands upon it, giving the weather an origin and reason, introducing us to inventor Flint Lockwood (Hader) who reminds me of Dexter from Cartoon Network.  Flint, in a bid to save the town of (then) Swallow Falls, develops a machine that turns water into food but accidentally launches it into the stratosphere.  Eager weather woman Sam Sparks (Farris) just happens to be on the scene, and the rest is history.  Following the story line of the book almost exactly - as exactly as an hour of a film can follow a 30 page picture book - the weather predictably gets out of hand.  In the meantime, Sam strikes some sparks with Flint - excellent pun intended.

It's after the first hour or so that the film really takes a turn from the source material as ending the story with evacuation would be too much of a letdown given the way the film had been going to that point, so a bizarre plan is launched and the weirdness hill just gets slipperier from that point on.  Kung Fu roasted chickens anyone?

This movie, despite being based on a simple book, and seeming doomed to fail by virtue of taking a beloved short story and turning it into a full blown movie with an actual plot, is wonderfully witty, and creatively clever.  I don't often laugh out loud at movies, but there was something about this "kid's movie" that had me lawling, as some would say.  I'm not sure what exactly it was, but something about this movie just clicked..  From the way Flint self narrates his actions including "saying what I'm doing" to the painfully true representation of how the older generation views computers, every element worked to make this a genuinely funny experience.  My expectations going in were mediocre and most of my hope was based on the fact that the cast sounded interesting.  Coming out, I can say truthfully that Pixar is not the only animation studio out there worthy of five stars.

***** (5/5 stars)

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

This past weekend I had intended to go see The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.  Sadly, with it's oddly limited release, there was only one theatre playing it in the area, and the showtimes conflicted with other plans of the day so that will have to wait until another time.  Instead, we turned to an old favorite, the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' treasured classic, The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

This is probably the fourth time I've seen this movie which was a good thing since we didn't start it until sometime early morning and had decided to make it a drinking game on top of that - the catalyst being every time the narrator spoke.  This worked out a little too well and I stopped in the interest of keeping awake for the duration of the film.

Hitchiker's Guide, like probably everything, is not as good as the book.  The late Adams did have a hand in the screenplay, however, and this is evident in how true to the spirit and style of the distinctly British and hilariously funny five book trilogy.

The movie stars Martin Freeman (Shaun of the Dead) as the bumbling Arthur Dent, Zooey Deschanel (again) as Trillian, and Mos Def (another rapper who likes to act) as Ford Prefect.  The allstar cast is rounded out with Sam Rockwell, Bill Nighy - not to be confused with Bill Nye, Alan Rickman, John Malkovich, Bill Bailey - again not to be confused with Ben Bailey of Cash Cab infamy - and Warwick Davis.

More or less, Hitchiker's Guide is a satirical adventure set in outerspace after the Earth is destroyed to make room for an intergalactic bypass.  As a huge fan of the novels, I watched this in theatre's with high anticipation as well as trepidation.  While not perfect, it is nearly so.  The casting, too, is near perfect.  Deschanel here is the weakest link.  I usually like her, but in this role she was just annoying.  Freeman, though, was a great Arthur, and I agree with those who say Del Torro and Jackson would be wise to consider him for the role of the great Bilbo Baggins.

The story is a bit convoluted, but only in the most intentional of ways.  It flies across the galaxy at infinitely improbably speeds right along with our heroes.  Adam's flavour of humour is spot on and it is impossible to not laugh at least every few minutes.  In some ways this story has been updated for its 2005 audience as Rockwell seems to be channeling George W. with his portrayal of President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Though there was a scene near the end that I think the book's version handled much better in a more understated way, it did leave me - and probably everyone else - wishing I could get my hands on a point of view gun.

All in all this was A) hilarious, B) true to the spirit of the books, and C) worth watching if only for the whale and bowl of petunias.

***** (5/5 stars)

Avatar

Avatar.  Easily the most talked about movie of the year.  At this time it's past 1.4 billion dollars worldwide.  James Cameron is poised to overtake both the domestic and worldwide records that his Titanic has held for so long.  At this point, if you don't know what Avatar is you obviously live under a rock and don't know how to use the internet - which is obviously not the case.

Because how you see this film is a big part of what people think about it I will say that I had the privilege of seeing it in glorious Imax 3D.  I had to preorder week four tickets and stand in line for over an hour to get good seats to do so. I know some people have complained about headaches from the 3D and have been told to focus on what was in focus and not look around too much.  I ignored that advice since there was just too much I wanted to look at in the movie.  I think it cost me a slight headache later, but that was it.  I did also noticed that, at least for Imax, if you tilt and move your vision to much the picture does get distorted.  It only happened when I did it intentionally, however, and wasn't a problem at all.


This was easily, visually, the most beautiful movie I have ever seen.  The CG was as near perfection as you can imagine CG being at this point in time, which is good since 90%* of the film is pure CG.  *Not the actual percentage.  I'm a writing hamster, not a mathematician.  Thanks to some sort of motion capture that includes the actors' eyes, the uncanny valley was nearly completely avoided.  The only times there was some discongruence was when the CG Na'vi where right next to a live actor.  Cameron never did seem to decide just how big the Na'vi are.  The 3D was also excellent, creating a world more real than perhaps the real one.  During a scene where ash is falling through the air I could have sworn some fell on my nose.  And the depth of the world beyond the screen is immense.

The plot to this film is rather simple and really not all that original. It's probably the weakest link here. Some have made the comparison to the story of Pocahontas.  Basic premise:  Evil humans, led by Stephen Lang as the psycho Colonel Miles Quaritch, and Giovanni Ribisi (Phoebe's brother on Friends) as greedy corporate head Parker Selfridge, come to beautiful planet in search of something they want - Unobtanium - but the locals don't like it.  Too bad.

Oh wait, one of the humans (Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington) learns the ways of the locals, falls in love with the chief's daugther (Neytiri, played by Star Trek's Zoe Saldana) and changes sides.  That is Avatar in a nutshell.

The movie also stars Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine, Michelle Rodriguez as the marine pilot (in a role much more likable than Ana Lucia of Lost infamy) along with a host of lesser known names.

The simple plot, though, allows you to easily follow it and let yourself get completely sucked into the stunning world of Pandora.  I've read some reviews that claim the characters are never fleshed out enough for you to care about what happens to them.  There may be some truth to that, but they're forgetting the most important character - the planet.  Pandora is presented in such detail, such beauty, that you cannot help but care what happens to it.  That brings us to the next important subject to touch upon.  The subtext.

Yes this movie is an obvious allegory for the times when Westerners have let greed lead their decisions to ignore another people and take what they want, whether it be North America or oil.  Yes it has an obvious Leftist, environmentalist agenda telling you that you should take care of the planet and respect other cultures.  If you don't, you're evil.  Supposedly it has also been condemned as encouraging nature worship through the Mother Earth figure of Eywa (by the way, am I the only one to notice a connection of this name with the Hebrew name for God, Yahweh?)This is a PG-13 movie.  If you're seeing it you should either be old enough to have already made up your mind about where you stand on such things or at least not allow yourself to be completely influenced by a work of fiction.  It's a movie, and a good one at that, and take or leave the message as you see fit.

For a massive blockbuster, on the surface this movie seems to have a lot of cons to the list:  The writing isn't spectacular, the plot is mostly unoriginal, the message may be offensive or controversial, and some may find almost three hours too long for a movie.  All of that and more are completely made up for, however, by how gorgeous this film is, how massively epic the world becomes, and how much fun it is to watch.  Avatar accomplishes what Transformers 2 failed so completely miserably at doing.  No amount of pretty pictures could make up for that excuse for a movie, even if ticket sales said otherwise.



Consensus:  Awesome.  See it on a big screen before it's too late.
***** (5/5 stars)