Spanks - 4
Director - Spike Jonze
Writer - Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers
Starring - Max Records & Catherine Keener
Voices - Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, Lauren Ambrose & James Gandolfini
Release Date - 16 October 09
MPAA Rating - PG
It took 46 years for Where the Wild Things Are to be adapted into a motion picture. After many failed attempts at making it a computer animated film, director Spike Jonze, who Maurice Sendak said "was young, interesting and had a spark that none of the others had", was hired to make it with actors and puppets and it couldn't have been done better.
The story is of Max. Max is a ten year old boy who has a very creative imagination and acts like your regular New Jersey ten year old would. His rambunctious mindset gets the best of him one evening which causes alarm for his mother. After his mother yells at him he runs out of the house. He then finds a boat and sails to an island. On the island he befriends a character named Carol and his group of friends.
The visuals used to create this world are what makes this movie great. The fact that the Wild Things where made and actually exist is even more exciting. They could have easily made seven Jar Jar Binks in the computer, but they took the time and craftsmanship to build all seven costumes, and you can tell.
The film is childish at times, but it is an adventure taken from the point of view a ten year old boy. The dialog isn't great, but think of the book and how the story is told more through the pictures then the words. If you go expecting a typical Disney film, you will be greatly disappointed. Remember how the book is, and watch the film as if the book is being projected onto the screen.
27 October 2009
16 October 2009
Zombieland
Spanks - 4
Director - Ruben Fleischer
Writer - Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick
Starring - Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone & Abigail Breslin
Release Date - 2 October 09
MPAA Rating - R
Zombieland is a comedy about a group of human survivors that come together after the world is destroyed from most of the population being turned into zombies. The four of them are in search of completely different things until they are all brought together. Wichita and Little Rock are on their way to Pacific Playland, an amusement park in California, that is rumored to be zombie free. Tallahassee and Columbus decide to go there too after the girls attempt to steal their car.
Throughout the film Columbus tells us his rules for staying alive in Zombieland. Some of them are what you would expect, but the ones that you don't expect are funny. The way they are described and shown is an added comedic treat.
The movie is hysterical. I laughed the whole time. It has an awesome cameo and Tallahassee's original search is brilliant and unexpected (both I won't ruin for you). It also has a few scenes that can be scary, but when you are closing your eyes or hiding behind your neighbor in the next seat you will be laughing your ass off. How many movies do you know that can do that to you?
Director - Ruben Fleischer
Writer - Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick
Starring - Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone & Abigail Breslin
Release Date - 2 October 09
MPAA Rating - R
Zombieland is a comedy about a group of human survivors that come together after the world is destroyed from most of the population being turned into zombies. The four of them are in search of completely different things until they are all brought together. Wichita and Little Rock are on their way to Pacific Playland, an amusement park in California, that is rumored to be zombie free. Tallahassee and Columbus decide to go there too after the girls attempt to steal their car.
Throughout the film Columbus tells us his rules for staying alive in Zombieland. Some of them are what you would expect, but the ones that you don't expect are funny. The way they are described and shown is an added comedic treat.
The movie is hysterical. I laughed the whole time. It has an awesome cameo and Tallahassee's original search is brilliant and unexpected (both I won't ruin for you). It also has a few scenes that can be scary, but when you are closing your eyes or hiding behind your neighbor in the next seat you will be laughing your ass off. How many movies do you know that can do that to you?
30 September 2009
9
Spanks - 4
Director - Shane Acker
Writer - Pamela Pettler & Shane Acker
Voices - Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connelly, Fred Tatasciore & Elijah Wood
Release Date - 9 September 2009
MPAA Rating - PG-13
9 is the first full length animated film from director Shane Acker and it is based off the original short film he made in 2005. The film takes place just after the fall of humanity when the 9th of a scientist "stitchpunks" comes to life. He finds a talisman next to him and picks it up then sets out to find out what this object is and why he was created. He quickly finds another like him who says there are more stitchpunks before he gets attacked and taken away. And the mystery of this world continues to unfold.
9 has a very unique look created by Acker and his animators. The world they created looks a lot more real than the animated features by Pixar, Dreamworks, etc. The "camera" work also has the fell of a live action movie with the use of zooms and focuses. The world is steampunk like in that it looks like it is set in the first half of the 20th century, but the technology is similar to today. Its very different than any other animated film.
The film moves along fast and it doesn't slow down for one second. Most films have few scenes that are slow and mess up its pacing, but not 9. The stitchpunks face some kind of danger the whole way through and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole film, I can't wait to watch it again.
Director - Shane Acker
Writer - Pamela Pettler & Shane Acker
Voices - Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connelly, Fred Tatasciore & Elijah Wood
Release Date - 9 September 2009
MPAA Rating - PG-13
9 is the first full length animated film from director Shane Acker and it is based off the original short film he made in 2005. The film takes place just after the fall of humanity when the 9th of a scientist "stitchpunks" comes to life. He finds a talisman next to him and picks it up then sets out to find out what this object is and why he was created. He quickly finds another like him who says there are more stitchpunks before he gets attacked and taken away. And the mystery of this world continues to unfold.
9 has a very unique look created by Acker and his animators. The world they created looks a lot more real than the animated features by Pixar, Dreamworks, etc. The "camera" work also has the fell of a live action movie with the use of zooms and focuses. The world is steampunk like in that it looks like it is set in the first half of the 20th century, but the technology is similar to today. Its very different than any other animated film.
The film moves along fast and it doesn't slow down for one second. Most films have few scenes that are slow and mess up its pacing, but not 9. The stitchpunks face some kind of danger the whole way through and it keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole film, I can't wait to watch it again.
17 September 2009
Inglourious Basterds
Spanks - 3
Director - Quentin Tarantino
Writer - Quentin Tarantino
Starring - Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth & Diane Kruger
Release Date - 21 August 09
MPAA Rating - R
Inglourious Basterds is the latest film from Quentin Tarantino and his first war movie (or a spaghetti western but with World War II iconography if you ask him). The film is set in World War II Europe, but that is the only thing that historically accurate in the film. Historical figures are in the film by name only, because their personalities and actions are altered to fit in this "alternate universe". Like most of Tarantino's movies, this one follows a multiple story lines that somehow and at some point cross each other.
The three stories Inglourious Basterds follows are of Colonel Hans Landa, a Nazi officer who is very good at searching France for hiding Jews. Shosanna Dreyfus, a Jewish French girl who runs a movie theater in Paris who agrees to let the Nazis use the theater so she can lock the Nazi officers inside and burn it down. The last is of Aldo Raine and "The Basterds", a group of 8 US soldiers who drop into occupied France whose orders are to kill Nazis until the Allies get news of the Nazi movie premiere, then they are ordered to assist a British film critic in an attack on the theater.
The trailer for the film makes it seem like it is just about Brad Pitt and his men running around tormenting and killing Nazis. The actual screen time showing them at work is very little. The stories involving Hans Landa and Shosanna Dreyfus are followed more. I didn't know of the other stories before seeing the film so I was disappointed. Now knowing that the movie is more than that, I might like it more the second time around.
The film is very Tarantino in that there is lots and lots of dialog used to tell the story, unlike most war movies where the visuals tell a lot of the story. The film does have a good share of comedy written in. Everything Hans Landa says is funny, but sometimes is the way he says what he is saying and not what he is saying. Christoph Waltz who plays Landa better win an Oscar for his performance, because it was flawless.
Director - Quentin Tarantino
Writer - Quentin Tarantino
Starring - Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth & Diane Kruger
Release Date - 21 August 09
MPAA Rating - R
Inglourious Basterds is the latest film from Quentin Tarantino and his first war movie (or a spaghetti western but with World War II iconography if you ask him). The film is set in World War II Europe, but that is the only thing that historically accurate in the film. Historical figures are in the film by name only, because their personalities and actions are altered to fit in this "alternate universe". Like most of Tarantino's movies, this one follows a multiple story lines that somehow and at some point cross each other.
The three stories Inglourious Basterds follows are of Colonel Hans Landa, a Nazi officer who is very good at searching France for hiding Jews. Shosanna Dreyfus, a Jewish French girl who runs a movie theater in Paris who agrees to let the Nazis use the theater so she can lock the Nazi officers inside and burn it down. The last is of Aldo Raine and "The Basterds", a group of 8 US soldiers who drop into occupied France whose orders are to kill Nazis until the Allies get news of the Nazi movie premiere, then they are ordered to assist a British film critic in an attack on the theater.
The trailer for the film makes it seem like it is just about Brad Pitt and his men running around tormenting and killing Nazis. The actual screen time showing them at work is very little. The stories involving Hans Landa and Shosanna Dreyfus are followed more. I didn't know of the other stories before seeing the film so I was disappointed. Now knowing that the movie is more than that, I might like it more the second time around.
The film is very Tarantino in that there is lots and lots of dialog used to tell the story, unlike most war movies where the visuals tell a lot of the story. The film does have a good share of comedy written in. Everything Hans Landa says is funny, but sometimes is the way he says what he is saying and not what he is saying. Christoph Waltz who plays Landa better win an Oscar for his performance, because it was flawless.
16 August 2009
District 9
Spanks - 5
Director - Neill Blomkamp
Writer - Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell
Starring - Sharlto Copley, Mandla Gaduka, William Allen Young & Jason Cope
Release Date - 14 August 09
MPAA Rating - R
District 9 is more proof that you don't need one hundred plus million dollars to make a science fiction/action film look great. The "Prawns" in the film look more real than any other CGI created character all summer and its total budget was only 30 million dollars. Compared to Transformers and G.I. Joe whose budgets were above 150 million each.
The film is shot partially in documentary style. The second act is shot as a typical fiction film, while the first and third act are documentary. By doing it this way, you get a better understanding of the District 9 world. The film tells the story of the government of South Africa and the company, Multi National United evicting and relocating the almost two million alien refugees (called negatively by the humans as Prawns) who showed up over the city of Johannesburg twenty something years earlier. MNU assigns Wikus van der Merwe to lead the relocation and the "documentary film crew" follows him into District 9. As with any forced relocation, the aliens resist. Problems also persist with the Nigerian gang who run a black market for the aliens.
The film is an allegory for racism in the world whether it is the way African Americans were treated in the United States after the Civil War until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's or, since the director is from South Africa, the Apartheid that lasted up into to 1990's. The "Prawns" representing the repressed group.
The movie is also different in that the aliens are not here to take over and destroy humanity even though they have better technology and well advanced weaponry. The filmmakers don't shove the racism thing down your throat, so you don't have to worry about being preached to about being caring and loving to all living beings. District 9 is the best film of the 2009 summer so far, and I don't see another film topping it this season.
District 9 is based off of Neill Blomkamp's 2005 short film Alive in Joburg. Check it out onSpy Films. It is only six minutes long.
Director - Neill Blomkamp
Writer - Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell
Starring - Sharlto Copley, Mandla Gaduka, William Allen Young & Jason Cope
Release Date - 14 August 09
MPAA Rating - R
District 9 is more proof that you don't need one hundred plus million dollars to make a science fiction/action film look great. The "Prawns" in the film look more real than any other CGI created character all summer and its total budget was only 30 million dollars. Compared to Transformers and G.I. Joe whose budgets were above 150 million each.
The film is shot partially in documentary style. The second act is shot as a typical fiction film, while the first and third act are documentary. By doing it this way, you get a better understanding of the District 9 world. The film tells the story of the government of South Africa and the company, Multi National United evicting and relocating the almost two million alien refugees (called negatively by the humans as Prawns) who showed up over the city of Johannesburg twenty something years earlier. MNU assigns Wikus van der Merwe to lead the relocation and the "documentary film crew" follows him into District 9. As with any forced relocation, the aliens resist. Problems also persist with the Nigerian gang who run a black market for the aliens.
The film is an allegory for racism in the world whether it is the way African Americans were treated in the United States after the Civil War until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's or, since the director is from South Africa, the Apartheid that lasted up into to 1990's. The "Prawns" representing the repressed group.
The movie is also different in that the aliens are not here to take over and destroy humanity even though they have better technology and well advanced weaponry. The filmmakers don't shove the racism thing down your throat, so you don't have to worry about being preached to about being caring and loving to all living beings. District 9 is the best film of the 2009 summer so far, and I don't see another film topping it this season.
District 9 is based off of Neill Blomkamp's 2005 short film Alive in Joburg. Check it out onSpy Films. It is only six minutes long.
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