Archive for the ‘2 Minute Review’ Category

2 Minute Review: “Julie & Julia”

Monday, September 21st, 2009

Don’t go see this movie if you’re hungry.

No, seriously, don’t go hungry. The movie will make you hungry. If you go in feeling even a little bit peckish, you’ll come out starving. It’s no wonder that now, after all this time, Julia Child’s cookbook has finally hit number one. After seeing this movie you’ll want to go out and do all of the recipes.

That said, it’s a fun little movie. Meryl Streep will definitely get an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Julia Child. Amy Adams got the short end of the stick because, despite a very good job doing her character, her character is nowhere near as fun as Julia Child. Besides, haven’t we all seen enough of confused, depressed, self-absorbed writers who start blogging in order to try and prove that they have something to offer . . . Hold on, wait a minute, that sounds an awful lot like . . . Naaaah, forget about it.

Anyway, a nice quiet film about finding yourself. As my brother-in-law said as we were leaving the theater (with just a hint of disappointment): “It was a good movie. Nothing blew up but it was a good movie.”

It was a good movie.

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Two Minute Review – District 9

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

If you’ve been wondering if the new Sci Fi flick directed by a relatively unknown director, shot in Johannesburg, South Africa, and starring an actor nobody has ever heard of is worth seeing, the short answer is: yes, most definitely, yes.

Ok, if that’s the answer, the question becomes: Why? What’s so good about it?

That’s a little bit tougher but the bottom line is that it’s a really good Science Fiction film — with a good story, performed well, and with something real to say. No, seriously, when’s the last time you saw a Sci Fi film that actually had something to say other than: “Look out! Aliens are attacking!” Throw in that the leading character is really such a dweeb that he’s the last person you’d consider a hero until (after some very poor choices) he manages to dig deep and find the hero inside of himself and you have a pretty good flick.

I particularly liked that this ISN’T a Hollywood movie. The director/writer was born in South Africa so he went home to shoot it. It was made a shoestring budget. There are no big names in it. By stripping away the typical Hollywood production values the director was able to make the story seem very real and plausible. The exterior shots were done in a real slum and the story is told in a documentary style. You can practically smell the sweat and feel the grime on everybody. And people behave in a believable (though a sadly immoral) way.

The film is Rated R and deserves that rating – it’s dark and violent. But there’s ultimately a spark of hope in it that will make you feel better about the human race and anticipate the sequel. Cause you know there’ll be a sequel.

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Pixar’s “Up”

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

This review might be a little late but what the heck, the movie is still enough fun to mention. The short review is that if you haven’t been to see “Up” then I recommend it.

Now I know what some of you are thinking — it’s an animated film. Those are for little kids, right?

Well, not exactly. Pixar has been on a remarkable winning streak. They’ve been making animated films that not only entertain the little ones but which have a lot to say to us adults. They’ve also shown that they will use solid storytelling techniques and not cheap out because it’s a cartoon. (Spoiler Alert!) And as if to prove the point, there is a sequence very early in the movie that reveals to us the main character’s entire life – and it’s done without dialogue. It’s just a series of images, or moments, which shows his life as he lived it. It’s terrific. In fact, it’s so good that about 50% of the audience at my showing was in tears at the end of it.

How’s that for storytelling?

I was reminded of the fact that Walt Disney said he knew he was on to something when, standing at the back of the theater at the premier of “Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs,” people cried when it looked like Snow White was dead. Walt was amazed that the audience was responding to an animated character as if she were real.

Well, Pixar has hit the same nerve. By the end of the film you’ll believe in an old man who ties balloons to his house to make it fly, a Boy Scout who’s never really been on an adventure, and a dog “who’s only just met you and already loves you.” It’s tons of fun.

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