New Release: Megamind 3D

I've complained many times about the rural movie theaters in my area, and how when I actually have time to see movies in the theater, there's not a lot worth seeing.  However, I do get to see a lot of random stuff that way.  Which is how I ended up at Dreamworks' Megamind in 3D yesterday celebrating Veteran's Day.  There were 4 kids in the theater, my friend and me.  I love when there's no one there, but this was pretty close. I'm sure Megamind would have been improved by listening to the giggling of more children, but I have to say it was still a pretty funny flick.  It parodies all superhero movies, from The Incredibles to comic book movies and even Austin Powers and such.  Will Ferrell voices Megamind, a blue-skinned, large-headed alien who arrive on earth with his side-kick "Minion" at the same place and time as another alien who can fly and has great hair.  Well, Megamind and the boy who grows up to be his arch nemesis, MetroMan, fight - because that's what they're good at.  I think the plot tickled me most when it reaches that point of thinking about "what would happen if the bad-guy actually won".  They've done it in other movies, exploring how the Joker would run Gotham, etc. but this movie did a terrific job pushing that really far.  Megamind realizes that he was good at being evil, and he's not so good at running a city (Metro City - which he always pronounces Metrocity - rhymes with atrocity).

Brad Pitt is wasted voicing Metro Man, and Tina Fey voices the female news reporter who is constantly kidnapped by Megamind in order to be rescued by MetroMan.  The movie takes the next step again and asks what would happen if the bad guy got the girl - would that even be possible, how would that work?  So Megamind decides he needs to Frankenstein himself another hero to fight - which doesn't go well (and Jonah Hill was perfect because I don't like him anyway).  Anyway, I know I'm reading a lot of meta-analysis into this kids movie, but I'm not a kid so that's what I do at kids' movies.  It was fun, the animation was really good - giving Megamind some terrific facial expressions, and I'll enjoy watching it again later.  Oh, the 3D was well used, but totally not necessary.  When big fights were going on, they'd throw things around and they'd come at you - the flying robots would hover around your head and such, but it didn't really matter.  What the 3D was AWESOME for was the Kung Fu Panda 2 trailer.  Just imagine this in 3D - awesome!

Guest Post: Films that take you back to School

Guest post by freelance blogger Camiele White:

It’s now the beginning of September --time for books, cranky teachers, and the gruel that passes as school lunch; for being pushed and ignored in the hallways, calculus homework, and detention. School drama and trauma is a common theme in film. In fact, thanks to the genius and hindsight of the late John Hughes, school dramadies have become their own subgenre. It’s in the spirit of the everlasting teenager that this blog is written --to pay homage to a genre of film that beckons students back to the hallowed halls of education.

It’s only fair that we split this into three distinct categories: primary school, high school, and college. There are those films that are perfect for the whole family --giving children the excitement of an uncertain future and parents the nostalgia of crayons and spelling words. On the other hand, there are those films that are made just for the 18 and overs that connect on a very visceral level. The proper thing to do would be to pick a film or two from each age group that sum up the lazy days of school.

Primary School
Matilda: One of the most beloved books by one of my all-time favourite authors, Roald Dahl, Matilda tells the story of a young girl who struggles with the weight of her intelligence in a world wrought with ignorant adults who use their size and their power to reign over the small and inexperienced. This film was an incredible peek inside the psyche of an elementary school child. I’ve always marvelled at the film’s simplicity and ability to manage the fine balance between “cutesy” and dark --a skill that was
crafted brilliantly by Dahl himself. Entering into this new  world of big excitement and big adventures, a world in which one is no longer the exception. Matilda was an outcast in her family, but at school she was a friend and a confidante. She had the power to uplift (literally) the hopes of each and every student that walked through the darkened halls of Crunchem. This film did for kids what I imagine Animal House (which we’ll explore a little later) did for college hopefuls: bring a bit of freakshow and fantasy to the uninitiated. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Though the first film of the Harry Potter franchise was, in my humble opinion, the weakest, one can’t miscount the film as a model of elementary school mystery. Yes, it was a film about wizards and witches. But there was an incredible sense of humanity and delicacy added to the film to bring it out of the darkness of witchcraft and into the lightness of a child’s imagination. Chris Columbus, known for his fluffy family films of the 90s, brought his keen eye for the whimsical and gave children the audacity to believe in magic again --something that had been a bit lacking in the films of the early new millennium. Harry, like Matilda, is coming from a home situation that is a wee bit less than comforting. In a world where you’re always ridiculed and locked away in a broom closet (or in this case, the cupboard under the stairs) Hogwarts was Harry’s only salvation. In these two films, it seems that school is being touted as a place of escapism where a child is encouraged to fully explore the precocious whims of his fancy. And isn’t that, my darlings, what elementary school was all about? Graham crackers and recess.

High School
The Breakfast Club: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention at least one of the films that came courtesy of the Brat Pack in the mid-80s (plus, my brother would hate me forever, as it’s one of his favourite films). For the better part of that decade, John Hughes had the film industry in a choke hold. No film summed up the highs and crushing lows of high school than The Breakfast Club. Chronicling the sit-in Saturday of the nerd, the prom queen, the jock, the outcast, and the rebel; there’s nothing more evocative of the high school daze than having to explore the inner workings of our peers as they walk the hallways. The most profound statement that the film makes, boldly and unequivocally, is that no matter your perceived identity, you are the only one who knows who and what you truly are. It’s a film that allows each viewer to remember a time when they were defined by the restrictions of the yearbook superlatives. As a beacon of the forever young film industry, I simply must tip my hat to Hughes for his incredible use of objective hindsight.

Fame: Forget High School Musical, you poor, uninitiated tweensters. This film is the real deal: song, dance, drama that just won’t quit. As one of my all time favourite films of any era, Fame broke the boundaries of understanding the inner workings of the ordinary teenager thrown into extraordinary circumstances. In the halls of the New York High School of Performing Arts, lives are changed and hearts are constantly broken. It’s at this high school that we see how the passion that runs through teenage veins is nothing to sniff at. Every moment is a chance to slice your place in history; every second you’re being analysed by the hardest critics in the world: your peers. If that weren’t stress enough, you have exert as much energy in your regular classes (math, English, etc.) as you do in your speciality (dance, singing, acting). This film tapped into something that is universal with all teenagers --the desire to live forever.

College
Animal House: I’d be the biggest idiot in the world if I didn’t at least mention one of the most influential films of all time, Animal House --truly the greatest college focused film to ever hit the big screen. John Landis, along with some of the most promising talent in film John Belushi, Kevin Bacon, Karen Allen, and Harold Ramis (as one of the principal writers), made their mark on cinema history by showing the raw, unadulterated nasty of the college years --some of the best of life. One of the most memorable scenes ever place on celluloid, the toga party where everyone, drunken and full of vigour, parties with the house band (the fictional Otis Day and the Knights). The song “Shout” became the official party song of any college frat throw down. It remains one of those songs that can easily start a party riot. Jumpstarting the “gross-out” comedy genre, Animal House did more than introduce the film industry to unabashed raunch, it gave the world a paragon of frat life and the craziness surrounding the most ridiculous four years of any young person’s life. If you’re looking for a symbol of college guts, gore, and grossness, you won’t find anything more elegant or articulate than Animal House as a beacon of the college experience.

This is in no way an exhaustive list; however, there are moments in each of these take me back to some good memories. Animal House, for example, touches me personally as, not a mirror image, but certainly a reminder of one of my most treasured memories in my freshman year at university: sitting in the lobby of one of the main dorms and singing familiar childhood songs until 7 am, then walking to the McDonald’s on campus for a Saturday breakfast. It’s moments like these that make up the best moments of my life.


Article writer by day, renegade poet by night, Camiele White loves any and everything film. She chases only the original (or incredibly funny) and has been known to talk for hours about subjects that most people just don’t care about. Right now, she gets her jabberjaw jollies writing for Star Costumes. If you want to give her a buzz, she can be reached at cmlewhite at gmail [dot] com.

New Release: 3D Toy Story 3

Pixar and Disney movies are often some of the best movies of the year.  Wall*E is still one of my favorite movies of all time.  This all started back before college with Toy Story and then Toy Story 2 when I was in college.  Now, more than 10 years later, I was excited to see the third installment, and after having seen it, I'd sign up for number 4 too.  Even more exciting, I'm in the big city this week so I got to see it in a huge theater in 3D even.  I can't say the 3D added a lot too the experience, but I can't confirm that until I see it again in only 2 dimensions.  They didn't do any of the "things flying at you" for effect, which is nice, but they also didn't take full advantage of it.  Avatar and surprisingly A Christmas Carol still did it the best I've seen so far.  Anyway, the story kind of relies on having seen the previous 2 movies, but I doubt you'd actually miss anything if you haven't seen them, you'll just enjoy it.  The movie picks up when Andy, the owner of all the toys, is packing up to go to college and has to decide what to do with his toys.  Some he packs up to go to the attic (though they inadvertently get thrown away but end up at a day-care center).  He wants to take Woody (Tom Hanks) with him to college, but he ends up at the day care too.  The other toys' feelings are hurt and they decide to make the best of their new life at the day-care center, run by Lots-O-Huggin' teddy bear (Ned Beatty).  Lotso makes nice when they first arrive, but then locks them in a separate room where the terror toddlers play roughly with the toys.  Woody still wants to get back to Andy, and leaves them (going home with Bonnie who is a good kid and appreciates her toys).  Meanwhile, the day-care center turns out to be hell for new toys.  Lotso runs it with an iron fist and Andy's toys hate it there, though Barbie does finally meet Ken (the Ken-is-gay jokes alone are pretty funny).  Woody finds out how horrible his friends have it, so he goes back to rescue them and they of course break out.

This is where the movie should have ended to make it just about perfect.  However, there's more drama at a dump before they of course have a terrifically happy ending that I won't spoil (though if you didn't think it would be a happy ending, you are cynical and should see this movie immediately).  It was only about 15 minutes too long, the dialogue is fun, moves the story along, and is particularly original as stories go.  The creators play on our natural tendencies to think certain toys are bad or evil (the cymbal playing monkey has always seems menacing to me) and others are good, but then surprise you pretty well with the fact that the cuddly teddy bear who smells like strawberries is actual a toy-dictator.  I also liked the fact that the movie celebrates imaginative play rather than just watching TV or playing video games.  Bonnie makes up scenarios and her toys are used to "improv" and they might be at a Paris cafe or in a hospital.  Overall, I really liked the movie, both on its own and as an animated kids flick.  4 of 5 lambs/stars.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief (Review)

There are not so many fantastic movies out this time of the year. I usually rely on romantic comedies and children's fare. Sometimes you do find something that's unusual enough to make you really enjoy the experience. Now I haven't read the books, so I have no loyalty to the original material, though I'll probably check it out now.

Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is a high school student with serious reading disorders and attention problems. He's struggled, and his best friend Grover, helps him get by. He's always had an affinity for water, but is basically just trying to get by. However, all this goes awry when he's attacked in a museum by a monster-type creature who demands the lighting bolt back. It seems that Percy is the son of a mortal woman AND the Greek God of the Seas, Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). Poseidon's brother, Zeus (Sean Bean), wields a lightening bolt that has been stolen, and Zeus blames his half-mortal nephew. However, everyone in the god-like world would love to be able to steal the lightening bolt too, hence the museum monster known as a Fury. Percy escapes, learns the details of his conception and powers and is taken to a camp (pursued by a minotaur of course) for demi-gods and finds out his best friend Grover is actually his protector and a Satyr (half man/half goat) and his teacher (Pierce Brosnen) is actually a centaur (though how he crams his horse body into a wheelchair was only the first of an odd line of things you're forced to ignore). Percy's mother, who has known all along that her son is a demi-god, is captured by Hades, the third brother, and trapped her in the underworld. Percy, Grover, and another demi-god warrior Annabeth, decide to go get her back, and find the lightening bolt so Zeus won't start a war with his brothers (which I think means the humans would all be destroyed). Their adventures bring all kinds of Greek mythological creatures as well as creatures from the Iliad and the Odyssey to get in their way including a fairly bad-ass Uma Thurman as Medusa. Overall, it's a really fun story to watch, both for kids and adults who enjoy the Greek myths. I would definitely keep watching this series if they keep making them out of the many future books. My only complaint is that very little is unpredictable, particularly considering its a really imaginative story. But then again, it's a kids movie based on a kids book, so I shouldn't complain. 3.5 of 5 stars/lambs

Harry Potter keeps getting better

I'll admit I was a little nervous when I saw that the sixth installment of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was rated PG, that it was too dark a book to merit that rating, but the movie was still thrilling and told the story it was meant to tell. While I wouldn't take a young child, it's not beyond most kids, though they'd better not mind jumping in their seat a bit. The audience was completely mixed in my theater (with a large contingent of Russian exchange students from the local college on a movie night), with kids and adults. The kids laughed at the obvious humor throughout, which there was, even for a dark book. It left out some of the depth of the characters, but still continued their growth from the previous movie to move toward the last. The explanations of Lord Voldemort's childhood were brief and left out the fact that the book always called him charming and cajoling rather than sinister. However, I watched the entire movie and was enthralled. I never looked at my watch, and even knowing how the story should progress, found myself swept up by their storytelling and acting instead of constantly noticing the deviations or omissions from the book. Daniel Radcliff and Rupert Grint have become terrific actors and their scenes alone or with any of the wonderful cast of British actors were always captivating. Emma Watson* does well when she's serious or outraged, but her ability to laugh continues to be awkward and fake. Jim Broadbent was a terrific addition as Prof. Slughorn, and Alan Rickman's nuanced performance as Snape gives hints towards the ultimate revelations about his character and motivation. I loved the movie and can't wait for the next ones. 5 of 5 lambs/stars based on pure enjoyability and the continued exceptional quality brought to the series.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I fully admit to really liking the first Transformers movie as you can see from my review a year ago. And, now I admit to liking the second one, though not quite as much. First of all, you HAVE to have seen the first one to get anything going on in this version, but I'm guessing if you didn't bother with the first one, you're not going to bother with Revenge of the Fallen. The new movie starts 2 years later just as our hero Sam (Shia LaBeouf) is heading off to college and wants to be free of his protection and obligation to the Autobots (the good guys, followers of Optimus Prime). That would be fine, except the Autobots have been routing out Decepticons (the bad guys) who have been dormant all over earth for centuries. It turns out our previous superbad guy Megatron in fact only worked for the REALLY bad guy "The Fallen" who wants to take over earth again (see the play on words in the title, yes, I like crap like that). Sam, his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox), and his new college roommate (Leo, a conspiracy nut played by Ramon Rodriguez) have to help the Autobots prevent The Fallen gain control of an ancient power source they'll use to destroy the sun. It's a lot of action, with a lot of slow motion fighting between the robots, but the story is fun, non-stop and a great summer blockbuster kind of entertainment. Shia is not a terrific action movie, but he plays the unlikely hero really well. The supporting characters are all good and do a good job being funny. There are even a few new Autobots that add funny one-liners throughout the film. My only problem with it is that it's a bit long, a few trimmed fight scenes would have made it just right. 4 of 5 stars/lambs!

Up: Review of a short film

There have been lots of live-action shorts made into real films. The most recent example I can think of is Frozen River which premiered as a short film at Sundance and was made into a longer film after that. It feels like the new Pixar movie Up was a 15 minute short film that they decided to make into a feature-length film. I say this because the best part of the movie was the first 15-20 minutes, essentially before the thunderstorm. The little boy explorer meets a kindred spirit in Ellie at their clubhouse. Then occurs one of the most movie montages in movie making (particularly animated) as we see them fall in love and age and finally our hero, Carl (terrific Ed Asner), old and alone in his house as the neighborhood is turned into a skyscraper. Carl overcomes being thrown out of his house by taking it away (his career had been a balloon seller at the zoo) with a huge set of balloons. On his floating front porch he finds he's accidentally taken with him a young explorer named Russell. This is where the movie pretty much loses its amazing magic - the kind that lifts you above the ruin that is Wall*E's world or makes you want Toys to triumph. Up becomes just a really good kids movie after the thunderstorm whisks our heroes away to South America. Good triumphs over bad, and the talking dogs are fun seems to be all you need for the rest of the film. If you have kids, take them. 3.5 of 5 Lambs/Stars

Night at the Smithsonian

The newest Ben Stiller movie, Night at the Museum: The Battle for the Smithsonian, opened huge this past weekend, and I'm not surprised at all. The first movie, I liked as decent entertainment, with Ben Stiller playing a pretty funny straight man against the insanity that was a come-to-life museum exhibit. The new movie follows our now successful hero to protect the still-life exhibits as they're shipped to be stored at the Smithsonian. However, our cheeky monkey from the first movie has stolen the gold tablet whose magic turns them to life, and is bringing it to the largest museum in the world. This movie had a lot to live up to, bringing to life even more and crazier characters, including Al Capone, Ivan the Terrible, Amelia Earhart, and Abraham Lincoln. It was bigger and more over the top than the first one, but didn't really improve on the original. There was a terrifically funny scene between Stiller and Jonah Hill, and a few historical references that were fun (Jay Baruchel finds a cell phone when Stiller drops it in his painting and Joey Motorola is his name). Amy Adams was terrific as Earhart, but just like their characters, Stiller and the rest just couldn't keep up. There were a lot of little throwaway lines, but overall it just wasn't as good as the original. 3.5 of 5 stars/lambs

Prince Caspian DVD review

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is the second in the series, and since Disney just passed on Voyage of the Dawn Treader, I'm guessing it'll be the last one for a while. I liked The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardobe and was impressed by the young actors that carried the movie. Actually, the special effects carries the first movie, and luckily they used fewer special effects and a little more story instead. The movie picks up with Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter a year after they've returned from saving Narnia from the White Queen. They're not happy being students again after ruling Narnia as kings and queens. However, a thousand years have passed in the Narnia universe and another human kingdom has risen up with its own problems - Prince Caspian has been ousted by his evil uncle and fled into the forest. Just before he leaves he's given Susan's horn. When he's attacked by Narnians, whom he thought were extinct, he blows the horn, which recalls our kids from England. The story continues really creatively (following the book if memory serves) with our kids trying to figure out why things are so different and what's changed. They meet up with Trumpkin, a Narnian being killed by humans in a brilliant performance by an unrecognizable Peter Dinklage, who takes them through Narnia to find Prince Caspian. They join forces and try to defeat Caspian's uncle and his armies. The movie is long (145 minutes), but if you fast forward all the battle scenes it's only about 110 minutes, which is just right. It's easy to tell which scenes you need to see, there's fewer than 10 people in them. Like all of C.S. Lewis' books, there is lots of very clear Christ imagery, with the people doubting the return of Aslan failing to conquer, but the believers triumph. There's a moment of trying to make a deal with the devil (The White Queen in great special effects), and then God images appearing to smite the evil ones. It's not overwhelming, but clearly present. The acting is pretty good, the story fantastic, and the special effects don't get in the way. The fight scenes are too long, but with a remote in hand, it can be taken care of, no sweat. Good kids entertainment. 3.5 Lambs/Stars

Kung Fu Panda: Review

I liked Kung Fu Panda. I didn't get to see it in the theater (mostly because it was a hard sell to my movie viewing partner), and it actually might have been more fun watching it with lots of kids. There's a lot of slap-stick humor with the panda falling down, breaking things, etc. And Jack Black couldn't have been a more appropriate choice to voice Po, the Panda. He's the son of a duck (that sounds like it should be an insult, but it isn't) who runs a noodle shop. However, in his heart he's always wanted to be a famous kung fu master. We start the story on the day that the kung fu master of the village in China, Oogway, is going to announce which one of the apprentices (Tigress, Mantis, Crane, Monkey, or Viper) will be made the master of the Dragon Scroll, and thus the ultimate Kung Fu master. Through a series of misadventures, our Panda Po is selected. He begins training to be a master with Master Shifu because the evil Tai Lung has escaped prison and seeks the Dragon Scroll and only the master of the Dragon Scroll can defeat him and save the valley. Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogan, and Jackie Chan voice various characters. It has terrific animation, beautiful scenery (reminiscent of Mulan, which I've always loved), and a captivating story. The final message is that it's within anyone to be anything, but it's sometimes hard to find a path to one's Kung Fu talent. 3.5 Stars/LAMBS

DVD Roundup: The Good, The Innocent, and the Ugly

It's time again for a really random group of DVDs I've watched recently. All the movies came out this past year, to mixed reviews, but since they all starred people I like, I rented them through Netflix. I'll review them in the order I saw them: Get Smart, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, and Over Her Dead Body.

Get Smart, based on the 1960s TV show, starred The Office star Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway. The supporting cast wasn't bad either, with Supporting Actor Oscar winner Alan Arkin, Dwanye Johnson, and Masi Oka. Carrell longs to be a field agent, his agency gets destroyed and only he and Anne Hathaway can inconspicuously infiltrate the bad guys group and save the world. That's about all I understood of the main storyline, but it didn't really matter. The action is only slightly better than a TV series would put together, kind of like a funny Alias. Mostly it's about silly jokes and Carrell hurting himself with weapons. Decent entertainment, but nothing ground-breaking. 3.5 LAMBS/stars

I rented Kit Kittredge because I like Abigail Breslin (see Nim's Island and Little Miss Sunshine) and I'm kind of a sucker for kids movies, and it got decent reviews in the theaters. Based on a doll (The American girl series, which I had when I was a kid) and the books written about her character, Kit lives in Cincinnati during the Great Depression. She wants to be a writer when she grows up and keeps submitting her stories to the newspaper (edited by Wallace Shawn!) and keeps trying to write stories they might publish. Her father (Chris O'Donnell) loses his job and moves to Chicago to find work and Kit and her mom (Julia Ormond) open their house to borders to help make the mortgage. A mix of people move in, helping create fun stories, quirky characters and a good mystery. It was a strangely pertinent story as our own economy struggles that our society's view of poverty might not have changed much since the Depression. They treat "hobos" as criminals, and since few weren't susceptible to unemployment, anyone could become a hobo. I'll admit while watching it I got kinda nervous as they were echoing things that have been appearing in the papers lately. But since it's a kid's movie, it all worked out in the end and Kit solves the mystery and saves the day. It's still fun entertainment. 4 LAMBS/stars.

And finally, the ugly. Over Her Dead Body is a bad redo of Just Like Heaven (with Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo) which wasn't a good enough movie to do again. Basically, a woman dies, can't accept it, haunts someone, and there's a love story. Lake Bell is the main character and isn't interesting enough to carry a movie. That's my first problem with it. The second was that someone convinced Eva Longoria Parker (who I love in Desperate Housewives) that she should both tan extensively and dye her hair blond so she's the same color all over. Plus, half the story is about how Paul Rudd can't get over the death of his fiancee and thus won't smile anymore. Most of Paul Rudd's appeal is his humor and his smile. So basically this movie stinks. The reviews weren't good, but they were kind. It's worse. 1 LAMB/Star. Don't watch this movie.

Twofer Tuesdays Top-Grossing Reviews: 1995 and 1992

Year: 1995
Film: Toy Story
Box Office Gross: $191,773,049
Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars (before Best Animated Feature was a category) including winning an award for Special Achievement for a feature length computer animated film
Actors:Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger

This movie holds up even though computer animation has made leaps and bounds since this movie was completed. It was an innovative concept as a script even before we were awed by the new techniques behind animation which most people only notice when they're bad, not that they're amazingly new. I just read that Joss Whedon helped write the screenplay, which was nominated for an Oscar which, with Finding Nemo, are the only animated films nominated for best original screenplay. The characters they created were iconic toys, but given voices that seemed totally appropriate (wouldn't you assume that Mr. Potato Head spoke like Don Rickles?) and then sent on an adventure to return to the little boy who loves them. It's a great story, and deserves the accolades heaped upon it. This description of Buzz Lightyear sums it up for me.



Year: 1992
Film: Aladdin
Box Office Gross: $217,350,219
Awards: Nominated for 5 Oscars (before Best Animated Feature was a category) including winning 2 awards for Original Score and Best Original Song for "A Whole New World"
Actors: Scott Weingner, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, and Gilbert Gottfried

Aladdin was the first movie I saw in the theater more than once. I think I actually saw it 5 times in the theater (back when movies cost $2 for kids) I liked it so much. Robin Williams' comedy as the genie was terrific and started the trend of big stars voicing characters in animated movies. I'm not sure this movie holds up as well for grown-ups because I've only seen it once since I was a kid, and most of the other animated movies I love I still watch. I'm still surprised this movie was the highest grossing for 1992, even over Batman Returns (the one with Penguin and Catwoman), Home Alone 2, and Lethal Weapon 3. Okay, maybe I'm not surprised.

DVD Round up

I'm not sure there are two movies more different than the fairy tale Penelope and the powerfully violent Blood Diamond. Penelope is a fable of sorts that tells the story of Penelope (Christina Ricci), a young woman from a blue-blood family with a curse: The first female baby born in the family will have pig nose and ears. The curse can be broken if she can get "one of her own" to marry her. Penelope's family hides her away to keep their secret, even faking her death. When she's 18, her mother (Catherine O'Hara) starts interviewing young blue-blood men to see if they'll marry her. This goes on for years, with all of them running away when they finally get to see her. One of them, Edward, is particularly scared when he sees her and puts a story in the newspaper about the monster living there. A reporter, Peter Dinklage, who was injured by Penelope's mother when she was leaving the hospital and he was getting a picture, partners with Edward and they hire Max (James McAvoy) to go in for an marriage interview and get her picture. Max has a heart and he starts talking to Penelope and they hit it off. Since it's a fairy tale, you can image how the rest plays out, except that you really can't. It's an original story about beauty being inside, and a reversal of the Beauty and the Beast idea (the woman is the beast in this case). It's beautifully shot, colorful, imaginative, and the supporting characters are terrific. Catherine O'Hara as the over-the-top mother with a heart of gold, and Reese Witherspoon as Penelope's crazy friend once she reaches the outside world. 4 LAMBS/stars

The second movie I saw this weekend was Blood Diamond with Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly. The acting is terrific, the story well articulated (which I found remarkable considering understanding conflict in Africa is rarely simple), and the violence overwhelming. If you're willing to watch the film by fast-forwarding the shooting scenes, I'd give the movie a 4.5, if I'd had to sit through this in the movie theater or with someone who won't let me fast forward, I'd give it a 3 for excessive violence. So here's my description of the 4.5 version. Hounsou plays Solomon Vendy, a fisherman from a small village in Sierra Leone in 1999 during their civil war. As he's walking his son to school one day, the R.U.F. (Revolutionary United Front) attacks his village and his family is divided. He is sent to work in one of the diamond mines in Kono where he finds an enormous pink diamond. He manages to hide it before the rebels find it. Meanwhile, Danny Archer (DiCaprio), a Rhodesian (Zimbabwean) soldier from the wars in Angola turned diamond smuggler has managed to get caught smuggling diamonds into Liberia (here's what I learned from the film: to avoid exporting diamonds from known conflict zones, like Sierra Leone in 1999, the diamonds would be smuggled into another country and then exported as clean diamonds to be sold around the world, 60% to the US. Because they are smuggled, the diamonds are dirt cheap and to gain money for fighting the war, both sides sell the diamonds. However, to keep the global price high, the diamond companies hoard the diamonds. The diamond companies even have an interest in keeping the conflict going because it keeps the price of diamonds low. I can't vouch for the validity of any of this, but that's what the movie seemed to be saying). Anyway, Hounsou and DiCaprio eventually meet in jail and DiCaprio convinces him to let him sell the pink diamond. They start to head back to Kono to get the diamond, and meet up with Connelly, a journalist trying to prove the conflict diamonds are being purchased by the diamond companies. They try to reach Kono and run up against government military troops, supplemented by the same Rhodesian/Angolan military DiCaprio used to belong to, as well as the R.U.F, AND local militia who are trying to protect their homes from both sides. Watching this movie you start to feel like everyone's in the wrong, that all the people are evil and just trying to make money. The leader of the R.U.F. has a terrific line that makes the movie seem a little more real, "If I am a devil it is because I live in hell." There's another conversation between Hounsou and DiCaprio where Hounsou is trying to explain how it feels to be living amidst a civil war where most of the people are not on one side OR the other, but living on the battlefield. The R.U.F. would steal young boys and force them to be soldiers. They're brainwashed into believing they are right, and given guns, drugs, money, and gifts to keep the cycle going. I've lived in Kenya and Gabon (neither in any conflict while I was there) but it's still nearly impossible to understand all the atrocities, war, violence, and bloodshed that goes on during these internal conflicts. This was a terrific movie to see how it can work from a single family's point of view, just fast-forward through the gunshots.

My own Top 50

I'm all for sharing our favorites and many of my fellow bloggers have put up their top 50 lists (without any particular order, except that the Top 10 are the best). These are my favorite films. I own most of them or have seen them dozens or hundreds of times. They're not for everyone, but they all have something I like to see. Check out the really different lists at Blog Cabins, Hoping for Something to Hope For, and The Center Seat.

Top 50 Films

1. Sense and Sensibility
2. Gone With The Wind
3. The Princess Bride
4. Out of Africa
5. The Shawshank Redemption
6. Star Wars Trilogy
7. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
8. When Harry Met Sally
9. Waitress
10. 50 First Dates
11. Finding Nemo
12. The American President
13. 10 Things I hate about you
14. Good Will Hunting
15. Walk the Line
16. Dogma
17. Little Miss Sunshine
18. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
19. Sliding Doors
20. Top Gun
21. V for Vendetta
22. My Fair Lady
23. O, Brother Where Art Thou?
24. The Philadelphia Story
25. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
26. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
27. Grosse Pointe Blank
28. Groundhog Day
29. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
30. Men in Black
31. 12 Angry Men
32. Forrest Gump
33. The Little Mermaid
34. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
35. The Sting
36. A Few Good Men
37. Gattaca
38. Notting Hill
39. The Lion King
40. Live Free or Die Hard
41. Say Anything
42. March of the Penguins
43. The African Queen
44. Minority Report
45. Fargo
46. Bridget Jones’ Diary
47. Almost Famous
48. The Incredibles
49. West Side Story
50. Cold Mountain

Sorry for the absence

I've been sick for a week or more and couldn't get up the energy to post much. I did finish John Adams and was enthralled. There were some less exciting bits when Adams became curmudgeonly at the end, but seeing them shape the country and ideals and then build the White House was exciting stuff. Makes you rethink the influence of just a few people, and makes the decisions we make today about what TV/news/journalism we support in addition to which leaders we elect really should make a difference. All US history class should watch this.

As for other stuff I've seen, I really want to support a kids movie, Nim's Island with Jodie Foster, Abigail Breslin, and Gerard Butler. It was terrific, more than met expectations of frivolous fun. Breslin and Butler live alone on an island in the South Pacific where he studies ecology. Nim is home schooled and educated about everything around her. And when her shipment of supplies arrives, there's a new book by her favorite author, Alex Rover, adventurer extraordinaire. It turns out Alexandra Rover is a agoraphobic who never sees the world. When Nim's father doesn't return on time from a plankton scouting trip, Breslin calls on her author to help find him. It's lots of fun, with Nim defending her island from tourists, and Foster's fight with her phobias to try to save a little girl. Definitely watch the deleted scenes if you get the DVD, they cut whole story arcs that are terrific, but would have made a kids movie much too long. Great to see Foster in something light-hearted, and Breslin is growing up to be less annoying all the time. 4 LAMBS/stars

Oh, and it's been a while, but I LOVED The Great Debaters with Denzel Washington, but really wanted to point out the great future career of one of it's stars, Jurnee Smollett, she plays the female debater, but also had a stand-out role on last season's finale of "Grey's Anatomy" (the girl with the brain tumor who survives). She's a really terrific actress, and hopefully will keep getting good roles.

Tuesdays Top-Grossing Reviews: 2000

Year: 2000
Film: How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Box Office Gross: $260,031,035
Awards: 1 Oscar for makeup, nominated for 2 others
Actors: Jim Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Molly Shannon, Directed by Ron Howard

I was really surprised that this movie took in the most money for 2000. It was up against quite a few movies that entered our culture and were of much higher quality even for being blockbusters than The Grinch. The next 6 highest grossing films in 2000 included: Castaway, M:I 2, Gladiator, What Women Want, The Perfect Storm, and Meet the Parents. Each of these films is better and more worth watching again than The Grinch. Bringing the classic Dr. Seuss Christmas story to live-action rather than the wonderful cartoon would have been an incredible challenge, but extending it by using material from neither the book nor the cartoon was really the downfall. Jim Carrey was terrific, over the top, and scary but actually transforming within that huge costume to become lovable at the end. The rest of the story was more than a little silly, beyond being childish. It was boring for adults and a little creepy for kids. The sets, props, and costumes were also over the top, glitzy, contrived to look like their frozen literary counterparts rather than creating a flowing real world version of Who-ville. Overall, I didn't like this movie and don't seek it out at Christmas, though I'll watch the cartoon nearly every year.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

I really wanted to see Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium when it came out in theaters, but alas, I missed it. I love Natalie Portman, and I'm definitely a kid at heart. I finally caught it on DVD this weekend, and liked it as much as I thought I would. It's a story about believing in yourself and magic. Dustin Hoffman is Mr. Magorium and owns a magical toy store. He's 243 years old and has owned the magical toy store for over 100 years. Of course, no one believes him when he says these things, but they're still true. He brings in an accountant, Jason Bateman, to determine the value of the store as he's leaving it to Portman, his store manager, in his will. They reason that an accountant must be a cross between a "counter" and a "mutant" so they call him "Mutant" throughout. He's a logical kind of guy and couldn't be more out of place in the Emporium. When the accountant is explaining that a guy can't be the king of a planet that doesn't exist, Mr. Magorium says, "You can't blame people for having aspirations." This sort of conflict goes on between The Mutant and Portman and Hoffman until he meets the little boy, Eric, who haunts the store because he has no friends. Eric and the Mutant become friends, unlocking the part of each other that couldn't imagine a magical story and the ability to make friends. Hoffman is terrific - with glimpses of his Tootsie personality behind the magical insanity and the occasional Rain Main moment when he's wondering about The Mutant's logical questions. But overall, he stays in control with the acting, and has moments of great humor and tenderness. When Portman wants to ensure he's sticking around and that she can't run the store because she's not magical, he reminds her, "Your life is an occasion, rise to it." The movie is full of lots of fun special effects, uncomplicated stories, and the belief in magic in ordinary situations. I loved it. 4.5 of 5 stars, and great for the entire family!

Spiderwick Chronicles is great fun

I saw The Spiderwick Chronicles yesterday with a theater full of kids off from school, and both they and I loved it. It's a simple story with lots of recognizable features: kids from a broken home move to a creepy old house, discover something left by a previous inhabitant and have to solve a mystery and save themselves and the world. This variation on a theme is very well put together and uses lots of unqiue features to stand out without trying too hard. Freddie Highmore plays twins, a nerdy science twin Simon, and the bad boy twin Jared. He's a British actor and his accent was good, but not quite like his sister or mother, and thus a little distracting. Otherwise, he's terrific as both twins. Jared finds the old lab in the house of his great-relative Arthur Spiderwick who wrote a field guide describing all the secrets of the fairy world. This book is being persued by Malgarath (played occaisonally by Nick Nolte, he morphs into a huge monster too) who wants it to gain all the power and rule the world. He sends his minions to attack the house which is protected by a circle of toadstools through which only humans can pass. There are good goblins/fairies/creatures too - Thimbletack helps protect the book (voiced by Martin Short perfectly, in picture), and Hogsqueal is a Hobgoblin who helps the kids "see" the fairies. Hosqueal is voiced by Seth Rogan (from Knocked Up) and provides all kinds of light-hearted humor as he attempts to aid the kids, but gets distracted by birds constantly. The climax is perfectly done with some humor, some suspense and quick wrap-up with a non-traditional explosion (spaghetti sauce can destroy the creatures). The monsters are fun, but it's easy to see the good vs the bad just from their appearance, but unlike other fantastical stories (The Dark Crystal) these goblins aren't scary, just evil. Overall, I really liked the movie, it has a lot of humor, a lot of fun mystery explaining a new fantastical world, and really good acting from all the characters. Definitely 4 of 5 stars.

Addendum: Also, I forgot to mention the music. Usually in these kiddie-branded movies the music is sweet and treacly and manipulative. This movie felt more fresh and fun rather than sinister from music alone. The music complements the movie really well.