The Impossible Odds

I've always felt a certain affinity for the extras in disaster movies.  While the dashing hero uses his wit, bravery and athleticism to barely avoid the pitfalls of some catastrophe, there are seemingly hundreds of extras behind him literally dropping like flies.  I've often wondered with great unease whether it is even remotely likely that I would be the hero in the midst of trauma, or just "Ann" falling down in the background.

The Impossible didn't make me feel any better.  It is a true story about a seemingly average family who somehow got lucky and defied all the odds by escaping the Phuket tsunami as an intact, if worse for the wear, family.  Whenever I began to feel moved by their plight, I only had to remember that others had it so much worse than they did.  And when I wanted to feel happy for the many miracles that led them to find each other, I couldn't because of all the sad extras who represented real families who were not as lucky.  Instead of feeling uplifted by their true tale, I felt despondent about the long odds that any of us face in the wake of disaster.

The acting was solid and the film was well shot, but this is not a film I could see myself recommending to anyone.

LOTR: The Prequel

Can we talk about how awesome the Lord of the Rings Trilogy was?  Remember that?  A sweeping new world, fantastical characters, an epic tale of good and evil, all of Middle Earth hanging in the balance and triumph only possible because of humble friendships?  What a great time that was!

Well, would you like to go back again?  We'll see the same places and meet many of the same characters though the newness will have worn off and we'll just sort of be meandering this time.  Yeah, all of the driving determination of a singular all important mission will be gone now but at least there will be whole scenes of visual effects that do not in any way serve to move the story forward.  (Thunder giants?  Why, why, why??!!)

If you decline to re-visit Middle Earth, I respect your choice.  Please re-watch the original trilogy and enjoy.  I've gone back and I am ashamed to say that I am apparently such a geek for Middle Earth that I sort of enjoyed the return trip, even while being angry about all of the above issues, and oh so many more.  I went in armed with only my extreme skepticism for the need for three hobbit films and my devastatingly lowered expectations and found that I could enjoy The Hobbit after all.  What can I say?  It's a better diversion than Mirror Mirror.

As far as it's nominations, I think they already won for all of theses exact same costumes, sets and VFX before.  So if Katherine Bigelow can't get a repeat nomination this year, I declare The Hobbit disqualified for a repeat win.

Snow White Number Two

Low expectations are a marvel, aren't they?

Here's what happened:  I found Snow White and the Huntsman to be enjoyable to watch and I would categorize it as "almost good."

I enjoyed their take on the fairy tale.  The tone was dark and sometimes creepy, the costumes and production design were all fun to look at.  Charlize Theron's wounded bird version of the Wicked Queen was layered and compelling and scary.  They found a way to bring in dwarfs (I always think that should be dwarves, but I guess not) that was plausible and interesting.  The action sequences were exciting without being over done.  It was a pretty good time.

A lot has been said about Kristen Stewart, so I don't need to pile on.  Just like Keanu Reeves (who I have come to enjoy) they make her limitations work for them in this movie.  I f she seems sad, confused and introverted, well, it fits what her character has been through.  It isn't until the last 30 minutes of the film that she becomes a problem.  Why not stand up straight when giving a rousing speech to the troops rather than doubling over?  I'm sure Rupert Sanders tried asking that question, too.  And if all you need to do in the final shot of a film is stand on a dais and look good in a crowded room, look no farther than Carrie Fisher at the end of Star Wars.  I mean, she never won an Oscar, but it isn't rocket science.  Just imagine this film with Rooney Mara...

Snow White Number One

Mirror Mirror was terrible.  There is nothing worse than a film that seems to find itself clever for no discernible reason.

The costumes were very large and inventive.  I hope that another film has better costumes so that this one does not have to win an Oscar.

Good Evening...

Alfred Hitchcock is the reason I went to film school.  Well, his films were the first films I enjoyed where I became aware of the role of director.  When I was a kid, not every film was billed as "From the Director of Bedknobs and Broomsticks..."  But I quickly figured out what an "Alfred Hitchcock" film was and that I liked it.  Then I was fascinated by the fact that one guy made all of these choices and put his mark all over a film and I started paying attention to movies in a whole new way.

So I looked forward to seeing Hitchcock as an Oscar nominee for make up.  First of all, maybe I lack a complete understanding of make up but I wasn't impressed.  Anthony Hopkins did not seem completely transformed to me, or not to the degree where I would be thinking of little gold statues.  But it's seems likely that making one person look like another is probably way more difficult than making dwarfish facial hair for hundreds of dudes.  So maybe it was top notch work.

What I did enjoy was seeing Alfred Hitchcock's activities in the lobby of the Psycho premiere (which were fun if totally not true) and his wife's genius for post-production (which I think is quite real).  Let's here it for Alma!

I'm Gonna Wreck It!

Wreck It Ralph was so refreshingly original.  New story, new setting, new visuals.  It was funny and heart warming and my whole family loved it.

A bad guy who is not respected for the part he plays in the delicate eco-system of a video game takes us on a stunning visual journey through the underbelly of arcades.  His character arc is justifiably motivated and leads to a wonderful growth experience for a whole plethora of characters.

There is so much delight in the exploration of the behind the scenes lives of video game heroes and villains, as well as the chaos involved with intermixing the game worlds.  There was plenty of wit, arcade homage for the parents and even a plot twist that I did not see coming. This one is my clear favorite.

The Disappointment!

When the characters look like Wallace and Gromit, I expect more.  It's not Nick Park but Peter Lord helming The Pirates! Band of Misfits, so I guess I was expecting too much.  This movie made little to no impression on my daughters, who typically claim every movie they just finished watching is their favorite movie ever.  (Even Yogi Bear, people.)

It had a great cast of voices and a few good jokes, but the comedy was forced, the wit was thin and you pretty much saw the successful bits in the trailer.  There was a lot of talk of pirates being proud of objectifying women, which makes me want to grab my girls and run.  I'm a little baffled how this film ended up nominated this year.