Plot: Widower Carl Fredricksen has nothing left to loose. While being forced out of his house and into a nursing home he decides to take the adventure of a lifetime. He turns his house into a flying one using thousands of helium balloons. However, he ends up with a partner and his adventure takes some unexpected turns. Up is yet another fantastic Pixar animated film. Along with the eye-popping animation (the texture and animation in these films is starting to become out of this world), Pixar always seems to come up with characters and stories that would hold up just as well outside of the animated world, and Up is no exception. There really isn't much to complain about with this film. The one thing I could think of is that some areas lack common sense and realism, but that thought came while I was watching an eighty year old man fly his house to South America with helium balloons. I guess I can let the fact that he never eats or drinks slide.
The story is very touching and will probably hit the sweet spot of many viewers hearts. Pretty much any cliched adjective can be applied to this film, so I'll try to keep it to a minimum. The characters are all fantastic, but the scene stealers are the animals. The talking dog Dug and Kevin the bird are so fun to watch and attribute greatly to all of the films most enjoyable scenes. There are beautiful scenes, belly laugh scenes and some tense action scenes as well. Up has everything for every age group. I'm always impressed that Pixar can pull this off so well with every film. A two year old can sit and be enamored by the beautiful colors and simple humor and adults can enjoy the same things but also pick up on the subtleties meant just for us.
Up is presented in normal 2D or digital 3D. I was really impressed with my first 3D experience during Coraline earlier this year so was excited to see Up in 3D. However, I was disappointed with the 3D in this film. In fact the most exciting 3D came during a trailer for a different movie. Nothing really ever popped out on the screen like it did with Coraline. So don't feel like you're missing anything if you see Up in 2D. One thing you might miss if you don't go see this in theaters is the short film Partly Cloudy that precedes the main attraction. Sometimes they include things like this on the DVD and sometimes they don't. If you can, definitely go see Up in the theaters just to make sure you see this short film. It is very creative, and beautiful and not to be missed.
I would say Up is my third favorite Pixar film behind Finding Nemo and Ratatouille, but that is a personal choice and could definitely change with time. The bottom line is that Up is great. So go see it!
Plot: Spy retires to reconnect with his daughter and be a better father. Daughter decides to go to Paris instead. Daughter gets taken. Father kicks some major Albanian, and anyone else who gets in the way, ass.If you decide to see Taken, and don’t completely turn off the logic section of your brain, you’ll ask yourself many questions during the hour and thirty three minute run time. A few of those question may include the following: Who’s driving the boat?, Why was that screw loose in this very expensive house?, What did he do with that other girl with the jacket?, Can a public photo kiosk really enhance a photo that well?, How did he get home? While these are all very good questions, none of them will be answered, and I get the feeling the filmmakers didn’t really care about these small details. Taken is all about how badass Liam Neeson can be (and how dumb American girls can be) and just wants its viewers to have fun for a bit. This film is pure escapism at it’s finest.
Taken was broadly compared to the Bourne series, and rightfully so. However, every film in the Bourne series is far superior to Taken as whole. While they have their similarities, Taken lacks the superior script and filmmakers that the Bourne films have. This film is a short burst of suspense and all out action, and it does this quite well, but beyond that there isn’t much there. The bookends of the movie can be very cheesy and annoying at times. I realize the beginning and end need to be a stark contrast to how brutal Neeson is in the middle of the film in order for the viewer to accept it, but the acting and dialogue is a little much for me at times. However, Liam Neeson is fantastic in this role and we can probably expect a sequel to this as well as many other action flick offers.
I had a lot of fun watching Taken and would definitely watch it again. If you like fast paced action and revenge flicks then you’ll probably have a good time with the film as well. Maybe you’ll be able to tell me who is driving the boat.
Plot: At the end of WWI a boy is born who shows all the signs of being an old man on death’s doorstep. This is a story of a man whose body ages backwards but not his mind or soul. We experience his many adventures all while he pursues a normal life, as well as true love. The story is told from the perspective of his diary, which is read at the hospital bed of his dying lifelong friend.I went into this film with a very open mind. I know it was a much talked about film and that a lot of people were surprised by the fact it received an Oscar nomination for best picture. However, David Fincher is one of my favorite directors, and it seemed like such a unique story so I was excited to see it from the first time I viewed the trailer. The thing about Benjamin Button is, he’s a slightly cold person, and the same can be said about the film in general. Is it worthy of a best picture nomination? That’s debatable, but you cannot debate how grand of a film it is. It is a sprawling and poetic story that tugs at your heart, makes you laugh and makes you wonder. The problem is that the film doesn’t do any of these things exceptionally well; it just does them well. What it does do exceptionally well is the thing that earned it instant Criterion Collection status, and that is special effects.
The effects are so good you don’t even know when they’re being used (except the hummingbird). If we didn’t know what age Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt are, we would have no idea that their faces at so many points in the film are digitized. It is so seamless and well done I was amazed. I can’t even fathom how they do this kind of work anymore. I’m only twenty-eight and it’s beyond me now. Furthermore, almost every scene can be paused, printed out and hung on the wall as a photograph. The cinematography is splendid and I think the war scene at sea ranks up there as one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve viewed. I am never disappointed by the imagery in a David Fincher film.
Another thing that doesn’t disappoint, and I feel has not been talked about enough, is Brad Pitt’s performance. I said earlier that Benjamin Button is a slightly cold person, which is true, but I think that is in the writing and not Brad Pitt’s fault. I found it fascinating to watch Pitt act like a toddler while he looked 90, and act as an old man when he looked like a teen in his prime. I think he showed a lot of restraint and there were many subtle mannerisms and tone changes that were very interesting. However, I think the writers thought the fact of his unique situation was enough to make Benjamin interesting, and forgot to give him much of a personality.
As a whole, I liked The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I enjoyed watching it, and wasn’t bored once over the two hour and fifty minute running time. In the end, however, I didn’t care that much either. For some reason, I was just never drawn in to any of the characters. On the other hand, the film is a great work of art. If the story sounds interesting, if the running time doesn’t scare you and you’re a fan of David Fincher then you should give this film a chance, and once will probably be enough.
(Now I'm just going to put a quick plot line before all of my reviews) PLOT: A young man with unique physical features, who lives in a small college football obsessed Nebraska town, meets a mysterious woman who helps him deal with the difficult situations in his life; and there are many.
At first I thought I was going to love The Good Life. Then about halfway through I thought I was going to be ambivalent. Then about ten minutes from the climax, I was pretty sure I was not going to not like it at all. Then it made an abrupt u-turn from where I thought the film was heading, and arrived in a much better place. If you stick around and wade through all of the murkiness, you’ll be rewarded with a much more upbeat message. The cinema lesson learned, which is one I preach all the time to my peers, is to not fight the film and try to figure everything out as you go along, but just let it take you for a ride.
The life lesson preached is just as simple and one I can’t give away here, otherwise there would be no point in watching the film. Unfortunately, one downfall of The Good Life is all the pain and suffering you have to sit through to get to the payoff. Once there you find something that isn’t too earth shattering. While it is a simple message, I for one feel it is an important one and worth spending ninety minutes of your life watching.
For a film that I stumbled upon on Netflix and hadn’t heard of previously, there were many surprising and very enjoyable actors that popped up. From Donal Logue to Bill Paxton to Patrick Fugit to Zooey Deschanel to Harry Dean Stanton, everyone seems very comfortable and laid back. Chris Klein’s washed up and psychotic football player that never made it, at times seems a little forced, but it’s forgivable. Overall, the performances are very good. The writing, while strong overall, can be hokey at times. The main character always has an appropriate and quaint “They say…” story to explain how everyone is feeling in a poetic way. I have the feeling I would have eaten this up when I was nineteen, but older and wiser it just all feels like a little much all at once. The film does have it’s tender and honest moments and some very strong cinematography and pacing. Overall the good outweighs the bad in The Good Life and it is definitely worth the melancholy journey. Wait a second. That is exactly the point the filmmakers are trying to make about life in general, and I just substituted the title of the movie for the word life. So did this review just justify the film? Were the bad elements intentional to prove a point? I just blew my own mind.
Special is a film that could have been. It could have been smart, it could have had insight and it could have been great. Unfortunately a loveable Michael Rapaport is wasted in a film that isn’t quite sure what it wants to be, leaves intriguing plot points unturned and misses some great opportunities.
Basically, the reason this movie gets two stars instead of one is Michael Rapaport; the reason I wanted to see this film. I love Michael Rapaport, and I think he’s perfect for this role. He plays wounded and affected as well as anyone else. There are a few decent supporting actors and roles, but this is his show and he delivers. What doesn’t deliver is the script. Like Watchmen, but in a much less intellectual and extravagant way, Special asks the question, “What would happen if normal everyday people became superheroes?” Rapaport plays Les, a man unsatisfied with his place in this world who enrolls in a pharmaceutical clinical trial. The medication is only supposed to make one’s self doubt disappear but takes an extreme effect on Les and essentially makes him think he has superpowers. Imitating the characters in the comic books he loves, Les sets out on his new occupation.
While it is entertaining to watch Rapaport in this role, foiling imaginary crimes and running face first into walls thinking he is running through them, the film never goes beyond this. Actually, I take that back. The film does go into a strange area of bashing prescription drug manufacturers (or suits) and the lengths they will go to get their drug on the market. While I don’t disagree with this observation, the film slowly drifts away from the most interesting subject matter and ends on a very unsatisfactory note. In addition, and I’ll say this without trying to spoil anything, in the last twenty minutes we are teased with a new and exciting storyline that is literally and simply left behind and never resolved in order to revisit the evil suits one last time. In the end, and on many levels, I’m left asking why?
Tell No One is a very enjoyable thriller/mystery. It's not mind-blowing, it's not completely original in any way, and it’s just a solid film with suspense, action and an engaging story. However, you might want to bring a pad and paper to get everything straight while you're watching it. This isn't a film you can watch while doing something else or you'll miss some very important information. You have to pay attention and store bits and pieces as you go along to remember later. The fact that it is French with subtitles may make that difficult for some people. I was prepared going in, so it wasn't too bad. I did have to rewind once or twice to make sure I had everything straight. Unlike some thrillers that try to be too smart for their own good, the rug isn't pulled out from under you for a "gotcha!" ending. It is actually pretty masterful how the filmmakers were able to put everything together in a way that keeps the viewer guessing, keeps the truth hidden until the final minutes, all without making us feel cheated or duped. The way everything unravels makes complete sense. Although it might seem like they are, the answers are not delivered in a nice neat box with a bow. I enjoy when filmmakers assume the viewers are smart enough to put everything together themselves.
In my last post I stated how I wasn't going to bother laying out the plot and all of the characters in my reviews anymore, and I will stand by that for this film, however you should know that there A LOT of characters to keep track of. Again, you just have to play close attention and you'll be fine. After the conclusion you might think something was left uncovered, there had to be a loose end or that something was ignored along the way. I'll bet you fifty bucks you won't be able to find anything. As I said before it is truly masterful how the filmmakers were able to piece everyone and everything together. I also implore you not to read any reviews where the plot points or scenes are discussed. Go into this one blind, it's so much more enjoyable that way. You will most likely read the basic synopsis, which is fine as that is just the tip of the iceberg. The direction is very good, the acting is solid (Francois Cluzet is exceptional), and there are some very beautiful scenes, some creative photography as well as an outstanding soundtrack. You might slip up, but Tell No One doesn't, I promise you.
