Movies

Where the Wild Things Are Monday, 12 October 2009 23:48 Written by Thraeryn

What do you get when you combine an indie-pop soundtrack with 108 minutes of 8-foot, furry ten-year-olds who have awkward interpersonal relationships?

You get the latest feature film from Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are.  It's the story of Max, a kid whose family seems barely present.  He gets into a fight with his mother one night and takes a boat to the land where the Wild Things are.  They make him their king through a bit of a bluff on his part, and they have . . . adventures.

In case you don't know Spike Jonze, he's a bit of an idol to the young, hipster crowd.  He directed the video for Fatboy Slim's "Praise You", appearing on film as the leader of the Torrance Community Dance Group.  He and Charlie Kauffman were the minds behind Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.  Jonze is also one of the minds behind "Jackass" and Jackass: The Movie.

Perfect for a family film based on a beloved children's book, right?

I went in expecting a somewhat pretentious film geared towards twenty-somethings, a film with oddly-placed music from bands I'm too old to know.  I expected a Spike Jonze adaptation of 48 color pages, maybe ten of which have text.  I got exactly what I expected.

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Zombieland Wednesday, 07 October 2009 00:00 Written by Thraeryn

Zombieland delivers.

You want gore?  You got it.  Comedy?  You'll laugh your head off.  Celebrity cameo: check.  You want to see a zombie stripper?  We've got that, too.

Zombieland is several movies rolled into one.  It has its fair share of horror and gore; the first twenty minutes are filled with blood, guts, and running from undead who are not the slow, shambling, easily-avoided types.  These are not your father's zombies.  They scream, they vomit, they spew blood, and they don't mind playing dead for a moment to catch you unawares and make a snack out of your ankle.  That's exactly why you have to remember Rule #4: Double-tap.

Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has an entire list of rules for surviving in Zombieland.  Until the zombie plague hit, Columbus was just a nervous shut-in with social anxiety, a very active WoW account and a fridge full of Code Red Mountain Dew.  (HUGE nod to the filmmakers for including my favorite beverage.)  His life takes a turn when he offers shelter to the distraught hot girl from the dorm room next door.  She's hysterical and hot (did I mention that?) and tells Columbus the story of how a hobo tried to eat her.  Thankfully Columbus' safe, geeky presence puts her so at ease that she falls asleep in his arms.

When he wakes up, of course, she's a zombie.

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The Boys Are Back Thursday, 01 October 2009 01:20 Written by Thraeryn

Bring tissues.

The Boys Are Back is the story of a father (Joe Warr, played by Clive Owen). He has a fine job as a respected sports writer and a sweet little family consisting of his wife Laura (Emma Booth) and six-year-old son, Artie (newcomer Nicholas McAnulty). Joe has friends, a house in a nice little Australian town, and in general, happiness.

Things come crashing down around him when Laura collapses at a dinner party. Her cancer diagnosis and the disease's quick progression leave Joe and Artie alone. Joe isn't living in hotel rooms and eating dinners on expense account any more; he's trying to deal with the role of single parent, trying to deal with the loss of his wife, and trying to form a real connection with a son he realizes he hasn't often seen.

I won't lie to you: the first thirty minutes of this film are ROUGH. Clive Owen and Emma Booth have such a perfect on-screen family, and then it's all ripped away. His character also has a hard time understanding young Artie. Artie seems completely unfazed by his mother's death at times, even asking in one heart-wrenching scene "Will Mummy die by dinner time?". At other times, you can feel Artie's pain at his mother's loss.

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Toy Story & Toy Story 2 3-D Saturday, 26 September 2009 15:59 Written by Thraeryn

Ever since Toy Story premiered in 1995, Pixar has been known for quality animated family films. Toy Story 2 was just as big a hit as the first film, and now Disney is releasing them as a double feature to get people excited about the upcoming sequel, Toy Story 3. This isn't any old double feature, however. (Wait, how many double features do we see in theaters these days?) For the re-release, Disney and Pixar have re-animated the movies in 3-D.

Like I said, Pixar is known for quality in animation, and the 3-D makes it even better. When the toys are alone on-screen, they're completely believable and the audience is absolutely there with them. While there aren't many places in Toy Story to throw in eye-popping tricks, they did manage one or two good "wow, it's 3-D" moments. Toy Story 2 had a lot more opportunities, and they WERE eye-popping. (The opening segment of 2 where Rex is playing a "Buzz Lightyear" video game is particularly nice.) The rest of the time, the 3-D gives both films that subtle something that makes you forget they're animated features.

In my opinion, though, the best part was rediscovering what great films both these movies are. The casting is excellent, with Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, and everyone else involved turning in wonderful, lively performances. The stories are full of humor and energy. It's a lot of fun watching Hanks (as Sheriff Woody) try to be polite when he first meets Buzz Lightyear (Allen), the toy with no idea that he's a toy. Woody's scheming, both to get rid of Buzz and then get him back home, provides the first movie with a lot of excitement. (I know I'll never forget the first moments we spend in the room of Sid, the toy-destroying neighbor; watching his monstrous toy combinations crawl out of the darkness is still creepy.) The scene where Woody stumbles across Lightyear drunk, depressed at discovering he's a toy, and wearing a pretty pink dress and hat is hilarious. 

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