Three Movie Reviews. Caution! May be Extra Long.

I thought it might be fun to give a few movie reviews for my most recently seen films. These are all movies that I saw with Shawn. For the most part I would have to say that he enjoyed all three of them,
but only one of them earned his highest stamp of approval.
That would involve him telling me, as we walk out of the theater, that he wants to get it on DVD.

First up would be;



I have a lot of conflicted feelings about this film. I would love to be able to say that this was a beloved childhood book for me, but it really wasn't.

According to the stats, it was written in 1963, which would have put me at six years old. I have no memory of it at that age though. I don't think I was even aware of it until my little brother brought it home from his elementary school library. I must have been around 15. I thought it was a pretty cool little book, but nothing too remarkable.

My point here, is that I came to the movie without any preconceived notions.
I liked the movie. I even feel that it should be seen on the big screen. Not just as a rental.
I wanted to love it but didn't. I did however fall in love with Max Records.He's the boy who plays Max in the movie.

I think this kid could very well be the next Dakota Fanning.

First of all, he is an absolutely beautiful child. And as for his acting skills, he was incredible. His performance was so natural and real that it was easy to forget that you were watching a movie. He was that spot on perfect. His "Max" was completely believable as a rambunctious but also troubled little boy. You weren't supposed to hate him. And I didn't. Maybe because I have raised three boys myself, I could see his vulnerability and confusion at being the youngest in a somewhat chaotic environment. He wasn't a bad child by any stretch of the imagination.

He simply was part of a world where he had no clearly defined place.

Max ends up traveling to a new world where he finds himself in the same predicament.

The community of Wild Things turns out to be as much a place of disorder and confusion as Max's real world had been


With one big difference.
In this world, he is able to take control and establish himself as the leader and rule maker.

For a while at least.

As he becomes the one responsible for order and stability Max starts to realize how hard life is for the person in charge.
He learns that, being the leader, becomes a matter of employing one big bluff after another. His new friends/dependants the "Wild Things" end up wanting the same things from him that he had previously expected from his mother and sister. Things that he doesn't know how to give them. The more he tries to give his new "subjects" what he thinks they want, the more dissatisfied and discontent they become with him.
They even suggest that destroying him (death by being eaten), if he can't satisfy their expectations, is by no means out of the question.

The film is visually quite stunning. His new world seems to have an unending array of different environments and climates.

The story, what there is of it, is neither easy or hard to follow.
It just "is".
It turned out to be, for me at least, one of those rare, odd, movies that I find it hard to have a definite opinion on. However I can say that, I liked the originality of it. I thought the acting was superb. The "Wild Things" which the Jim Henson people get the credit for bringing to life, were fun to watch.
All in all, I think the best recommendation I can give it is this; If you have a nice, vivid, unlimited imagination, then you will most likely find something about it to like. And, even if you decide you don't like it, you will most likely at least "understand" it.
On the other hand, if you prefer your movies straight up, with not a hint of ambiguity, and very little plot to speak of, then you might want to miss this one.

Next up;

No hidden meaning or agenda to this movie. Just a lot of good sticky, messy and stinky fun. I doubt I will ever watch it a second time, even if I do buy it for Shawn when it comes out.

Yes this is the one he liked best.

It's a cute story about a young man trying to find acceptance from his peers. He is an inventer, who comes up with a way to have food of all kinds fall from the sky.

Like if the army's MRE's were to breed with a well loved restaurant, and then turn into weather.

As can be expected, things go from wonderful to sketchy to world wide devistation in less time than it would take to eat even a fraction of one of those heaven sent meals.

And of course, things look quite desperate and hopeless for a while. In the end though, everything works out well, our hero ends up with the girl, a huge mound of orange jello is involved, and he goes on to invent for another day.

This really was a fun and colorful movie.

I loved the "IceCream, Snow Day".
To sum it all up, there were lots of colors, lots of action, lots of fun characters. Along with an easy to follow story. A really good family film that even the youngest children should enjoy.




And last but not least;

This one is my favorite of the three. Shawn? Not so much. I really enjoyed every minute of this movie.
It told a good story.
I loved the look of it as well. Very clean looking animation. I won't get too far into the story for two good reasons.
1) This post is already going to be too long.
and
2) The story is the movie, more or less. It's more fun to discover it on your own than to hear about it through the third person.

One quick note here:
I wouldn't take young children to see it.

The young hero Toby, is killed rather early on. Shawn was quite disturbed by his death. I think it kind of tainted the rest of the movie for him. Without going into details a new "Toby" is created and the movie is more or less "his" story.
At times it's a little predictable. But, at least in my opinion, it didn't ruin things one bit. There are definitly some political themes running through the story as well. Nothing too controversial. Just enough to get your attention.
The whole matter of what makes up humanity, an idea that has seen the light of day in several books, plays, TV shows, and more than a few other movies, is explored.
Again, nothing earth shattering here. Just a nice little film, with a nice little moral, told in a completely non-threatening, but nicely colorful way.

That is it for my movie reviews. There are quite a few other movies I expect to go see soon.
"The Men who Stare at Goats"
"The Vampire's Assistant" (might be too late, have to check)
"Disney's Christmas Carol"
"Planet 51"
"The Blind Side"
And, after all of the ridiculous furur has died down,
"New Moon"
What films have you seen (and liked or not).
And which ones are you looking forward to?
I'd love to hear.