Disney Pixar is seemingly infallible. It makes great film after great film (well, Cars was just decent). Each movie is incredibly unique, and Up is no exception. It is an animated film that is incredibly touching, and has some very compelling drama in addition to its zany comedy and amazing visuals. It has fantastic characters, including a talking dog and a female bird named Kevin.
Carl Fredericksen (Edward Asner), has dreamed of flying just like the heroic Charles Muntz, and visiting South America since a young boy. He marries Ellie, who shares the same dream. There is a particular waterfall there that both want to see. The two grow old together, and Ellie passes away. Carl's house, who he refers to as "Ellie", is in the middle of a construction zone. After inadvertently injuring a construction worker who touches his mailbox, Carl is set to be sent to a retirement home. Before they can take him away, he attaches an incredible amount of balloons to his house, and flies away. He is not alone, as a young boy scout named Russell (in need of one more badge) was on his porch as the house took off.
The two travel to South America. Upon landing, they meet a dog named Dug who can talk, thanks to his special technologically advanced collar. The trio runs into a rare bird who Russell names Kevin, who actually turns out to be female. A large pack of dogs who can also talk is hot on their trail, attempting to capture Kevin. The dogs belong to Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), who wants the bird for himself.
This movie has everything. Adventure, comedy, suspense, drama, and a powerful love story. The relationship between Carl and Russell is as powerful as it is funny. Russell did not have a good father figure in his life, and Carl becomes somewhat of a father (more like grandfather) figure to him. Carl's dedication to Ellie is also incredibly touching, and it is impossible to not root for Carl in his quest to visit the waterfall in South America for her.
Dug provides some excellent comedy as the roly-poly dog with a goofy voice. Russell is also a funny character, as his determination to earn his last merit badge knows no bounds. As for Muntz, what better voice to give to a villainous character than Christopher Plummer? Plummer has one of those voices that is very trusting, but can also become cold and sinister, which works perfectly for the character.
Up is another spectacular entry in the Pixar filmography. It has something for everyone. It has all the adventure of a movie like WALL-E, all the sillyness and comedy of Monsters Inc., and all the touching moments of Ratatouille and Toy Story. It's not a flawless film, but is certainly just as unique and just as entertaining as anything Pixar has done. It is another movie to stand up and cheer for. It may in fact be the most powerful emotional experience of any of them. If the final image of Up does not affect you emotionally, you are completely heartless.
Rating: 9/10
6/13/09
6/6/09
The Hangover
Most of us have had this experience: You wake up in a room, not completely sure where you are at first. Your head is pounding. You attempt to recreate in your mind exactly what happened last night, but you can only get bits and pieces. You have no clue what you might have done. You have to ask your friends what happened, and you begin piecing it together based on their vague memories of the night. You begin to find out you did some things that are a shock to you. The Hangover takes this familiar experience, and takes it to a whole new level.
The Hangover is a story of four guys we all know, and it likely resembles our group of friends. There's Phil (Bradley Cooper), the one who just wants to have a good time no matter what. There's Alan (Zach Galifianakis), the fat lazy one who is also a bit slow, and you are not sure why you are friends with him. Stu (Ed Helms) has a controlling girlfriend and pretends he is happy, but is actually miserable. Finally there's Doug (Justin Bartha), the "normal" one.
The Hangover takes these four familiar people, and puts them into a nightmarish situation that would give Deliverance a run for its money. Doug is getting married to Tracy, and is heading to Vegas with his group of friends (well, Alan is just his fiance's brother) for his bachelor party. The four men take shots of Jagermeister on the roof, and the next thing they know, they wake up the next morning in their hotel room. The room is trashed. There is a chicken walking around. There's a smoking hole in the chair. Stu is missing a tooth. There is an unknown baby. There's a tiger in the bathroom. Phil had been in the hospital. And last but not least, Doug is missing.
The three remaining men go on a frantic search to find Doug. They begin to piece together the night, based on the account from a doctor at the hospital, a man who owns a wedding chapel (where Stu married a stripper named Jade), Mike Tyson's security tapes (from when the four men stole his tiger), a run-in with Chinese mobsters, and various other misadventures.
If all of what I have just written does not sound funny to you, then you have no sense of humor. The Hangover is an incredibly funny movie, from start to finish. The humor is often raunchy and shocking, but very clever at the same time. Even though the situations are completely ridiculous, they might not be that impossibly far-fetched based on our own experiences. The audience can completely identify with the characters, and legitimately care about them. The movie absolutely would not work if it did not feel somewhat familiar.
Director Todd Phillips is back in a big way after falling off the map for awhile following Old School, and this is certainly his best work to date. Bradley Cooper has a definite breakout performance, finally getting a shot as a leading character. Cooper has all the makings of a major star. Ed Helms gets to further display the acting ability that he has shown on television, and fits the character of Stu perfectly. Zach Galifianakis steals the show as Alan. The word "brilliant" rarely applies to a comedic performance, but here it is completely appropriate. Justin Bartha plays a somewhat more serious role than usual, but is still quite funny in parts. The supporting cast is strong, as Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, Jeffrey Tambor and others all have great moments.
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding The Hangover, and it completely lives up to it. It is a movie that takes a brilliant idea and uses it to its fullest potential. The cast is strong from top to bottom, and the actors all create fantastic characters. If only there were more comedies of this caliber. If you are not easily offended or grossed out, then you absolutely must see this movie. If you are, then I am afraid you are missing out.
Rating: 9/10
Coming soon: Reviews of "Drag Me to Hell" and "Up".
The Hangover is a story of four guys we all know, and it likely resembles our group of friends. There's Phil (Bradley Cooper), the one who just wants to have a good time no matter what. There's Alan (Zach Galifianakis), the fat lazy one who is also a bit slow, and you are not sure why you are friends with him. Stu (Ed Helms) has a controlling girlfriend and pretends he is happy, but is actually miserable. Finally there's Doug (Justin Bartha), the "normal" one.
The Hangover takes these four familiar people, and puts them into a nightmarish situation that would give Deliverance a run for its money. Doug is getting married to Tracy, and is heading to Vegas with his group of friends (well, Alan is just his fiance's brother) for his bachelor party. The four men take shots of Jagermeister on the roof, and the next thing they know, they wake up the next morning in their hotel room. The room is trashed. There is a chicken walking around. There's a smoking hole in the chair. Stu is missing a tooth. There is an unknown baby. There's a tiger in the bathroom. Phil had been in the hospital. And last but not least, Doug is missing.
The three remaining men go on a frantic search to find Doug. They begin to piece together the night, based on the account from a doctor at the hospital, a man who owns a wedding chapel (where Stu married a stripper named Jade), Mike Tyson's security tapes (from when the four men stole his tiger), a run-in with Chinese mobsters, and various other misadventures.
If all of what I have just written does not sound funny to you, then you have no sense of humor. The Hangover is an incredibly funny movie, from start to finish. The humor is often raunchy and shocking, but very clever at the same time. Even though the situations are completely ridiculous, they might not be that impossibly far-fetched based on our own experiences. The audience can completely identify with the characters, and legitimately care about them. The movie absolutely would not work if it did not feel somewhat familiar.
Director Todd Phillips is back in a big way after falling off the map for awhile following Old School, and this is certainly his best work to date. Bradley Cooper has a definite breakout performance, finally getting a shot as a leading character. Cooper has all the makings of a major star. Ed Helms gets to further display the acting ability that he has shown on television, and fits the character of Stu perfectly. Zach Galifianakis steals the show as Alan. The word "brilliant" rarely applies to a comedic performance, but here it is completely appropriate. Justin Bartha plays a somewhat more serious role than usual, but is still quite funny in parts. The supporting cast is strong, as Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, Jeffrey Tambor and others all have great moments.
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding The Hangover, and it completely lives up to it. It is a movie that takes a brilliant idea and uses it to its fullest potential. The cast is strong from top to bottom, and the actors all create fantastic characters. If only there were more comedies of this caliber. If you are not easily offended or grossed out, then you absolutely must see this movie. If you are, then I am afraid you are missing out.
Rating: 9/10
Coming soon: Reviews of "Drag Me to Hell" and "Up".
6/1/09
Terminator: Salvation
The first question one may ask him or herself about Terminator Salvation...is another Terminator movie really necessary? Considering Terminator 3 was made as somewhat of an afterthought, probably not. Especially when considering this one wouldn't feature Arnold Schwarzenegger...or would it?
So it's post-apocalyptic 2018, and it's a setting we've seen many a time. This version is not particularly any better than usual. In fact, I prefer the dark, ominous version we saw glimpses of in the first two films. Those movies gave us enough of an idea of the future to not warrant an entire movie made about it. But there was money to be made, as most series that go beyond 3 films aim for.
As foretold by the previous films, John Connor (Christian Bale) is a grown man now, battling against Skynet and its army of machines. He is aided by Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood), and a mysterious man named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), who turns out to actually be only partially man. Connor reluctantly accepts his help in an effort to save Kyle Reese, (Anton Yelchin, aka Chekov in Star Trek), who is Connor's father. But at this point, Reese is younger than Connor. I'm not sure how this timeline works exactly, but something seems a bit...off. Perhaps some of you Terminator die hards can help me out here.
The action rarely lets up, and it is enjoyable. The special effects are, as to be expected, excellent. The movie is all spectacle but with little substance. Bale said he went on his rant due to an interruption in the most emotionally intense scene of the film. I'm still not sure which scene that would be. There is very little emotion going on in this film. To be fair, the Terminator films have never been much more than action films. I feel that Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn made for interesting characters though, and Arnold was so perfect as the Terminator it's impossible to imagine the part being played better. Worthington is supposed to be mostly human, but appears to be mostly machine in his role. Moon Bloodgood is entertaining, and certainly has a fantastic name if nothing else. Bale is an incredible actor, but does not have much to work with here. He is simply an action hero, and it's not really his type of role. Batman is much more than an action hero, on the other hand.
The first three Terminator movies had a villain who actually could give the heroes a run for their money. In this one, there is no real villain, except for the brief appearance of a formidable foe. However, it is both a positive and a negative in a way. That formula had become old after the third installment rolled around. However, the suspense is a bit lessened. You know John Connor will succeed because, well, we see an older Kyle Reese in The Terminator. So we really know how it will go down before it does. Which is another reason this movie is a tad unnecessary.
I have mentioned quite a few negatives, but this movie is actually pretty enjoyable. It doesn't try to be any more than what it is, a non-stop action movie. Movies like Star Trek succeeded in becoming something more. Do not expect many deep thoughts to enter your brain during this film. Just try to sit back and watch Christian Bale blow things up.
Rating: 6.5/10
So it's post-apocalyptic 2018, and it's a setting we've seen many a time. This version is not particularly any better than usual. In fact, I prefer the dark, ominous version we saw glimpses of in the first two films. Those movies gave us enough of an idea of the future to not warrant an entire movie made about it. But there was money to be made, as most series that go beyond 3 films aim for.
As foretold by the previous films, John Connor (Christian Bale) is a grown man now, battling against Skynet and its army of machines. He is aided by Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood), and a mysterious man named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), who turns out to actually be only partially man. Connor reluctantly accepts his help in an effort to save Kyle Reese, (Anton Yelchin, aka Chekov in Star Trek), who is Connor's father. But at this point, Reese is younger than Connor. I'm not sure how this timeline works exactly, but something seems a bit...off. Perhaps some of you Terminator die hards can help me out here.
The action rarely lets up, and it is enjoyable. The special effects are, as to be expected, excellent. The movie is all spectacle but with little substance. Bale said he went on his rant due to an interruption in the most emotionally intense scene of the film. I'm still not sure which scene that would be. There is very little emotion going on in this film. To be fair, the Terminator films have never been much more than action films. I feel that Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn made for interesting characters though, and Arnold was so perfect as the Terminator it's impossible to imagine the part being played better. Worthington is supposed to be mostly human, but appears to be mostly machine in his role. Moon Bloodgood is entertaining, and certainly has a fantastic name if nothing else. Bale is an incredible actor, but does not have much to work with here. He is simply an action hero, and it's not really his type of role. Batman is much more than an action hero, on the other hand.
The first three Terminator movies had a villain who actually could give the heroes a run for their money. In this one, there is no real villain, except for the brief appearance of a formidable foe. However, it is both a positive and a negative in a way. That formula had become old after the third installment rolled around. However, the suspense is a bit lessened. You know John Connor will succeed because, well, we see an older Kyle Reese in The Terminator. So we really know how it will go down before it does. Which is another reason this movie is a tad unnecessary.
I have mentioned quite a few negatives, but this movie is actually pretty enjoyable. It doesn't try to be any more than what it is, a non-stop action movie. Movies like Star Trek succeeded in becoming something more. Do not expect many deep thoughts to enter your brain during this film. Just try to sit back and watch Christian Bale blow things up.
Rating: 6.5/10
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