Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox (DVD)

I had been hesitant to see this movie, only because I loved "Up" a lot, and everybody said this movie rivaled "Up" in it's animated genius, and I didn't want to believe that and the only way to continue believing that was just to simply not see it.


Well curiosity got the best of me and it soon was at the top of my Netflix queue and the postmaster soon delivered it to my too small of a mailbox. Come to find out, I really really really liked this movie. So much as that I thought it did rival "Up" in its genius. Pixar movies always have that special something in them that makes  both the twenty something adult in me love and adore and the little 12 year old inside me squeal and laugh with delight. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" seemed to be aimed at adults. Don't get me wrong, I thought kids could enjoy the caper too as there are enough visual gags and silly business to keep them interested, but I had to shift perspective to see it as a kid. In any one of Pixar's movies the kid and the adult in me find simultaneous joy - "Mr. Fox" just appealed to the slightly cynical and grown up me, which is always why I will put Pixar's movies on a higher level, but I really liked "Fantastic Mr. Fox" for many reasons. Let me tell you some of them...now.


I get a kick out of Wes Anderson's movies. I appreciated "Rushmore," thought "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" was quirky and fun, but kind of boring, and I love "The Royal Tenenbaums," which remains one of my favorite movies. He has quite a distinct style to his films, trademarked by his simple framing devices, straight on shots and title cards - I think "quirky," though overused, it really the best way to describe his movies. I can see some people hating it, but I find it amusing. It makes me smile. So I was originally surprised to see that style lend itself so very well to animation, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is unlike any other animated movie I've seen, maybe in my life. It was as if it was a real movie, with real people, directed by Wes Anderson, except that instead of real people they're animated animals. I can't describe it, you just have to see it for yourself.  The way the movie looked just kept a smile - maybe even more of an interested smirk on my face  - the entire time.


The voices (provided by the likes of George Clooney as Mr. Fox, Meryl Streep as Mrs. Fox, and Bill Murray as Badger) just added so much to the film, but unlike some movies by other animated companies (say Dreamworks for example - who's reliance on big name movie stars to voice characters that might not necessarily be the best choices but are the biggest names) the big named stars do not overpower their animated counterparts at all. Clooney's soothing, charming voice is perfect for the sly Mr. Fox and I could almost not tell it was Meryl Streep at all, but instead her voice just became the caring wife and mother Mrs. Fox.


And the movie was smart! It was so smart to watch. Things that I know would go right over a kid's head. Like a complicated discussion of the housing market, except as how it applies to holes in the ground as opposed to a tree, with pine trees being way out of Mr. Fox's price range. Or the mid-life crisis Mr. Fox is going through which gives him the itch to get back into a life a crime and how that crisis affects the rest of his family. And the brilliant use of the word "cuss" inserted many many times throughout the movies in the place of vulgar words that would have rated the movie a much higher rating. The first time it happened I thought nothing of it, but the second I went wait a minute. NO WAY! They are totally swearing in this movie! But not really. It's just so...smart! Like I said before, right? For example, a quote:

Mr. Fox: I understand what you're saying, and your comments are valuable, but I'm gonna ignore your advice.

Badger: The cuss you are. 

Mr. Fox: The cuss am I? Are you cussing with me? 

Badger: No, you cussing with me? 

Mr. Fox: Don't cussing point at me! 

Badger: If you're gonna cuss with somebody, you're not gonna cuss with me, you little cuss! 

Mr. Fox: You're not gonna cuss with me! 

I'm not sure how much of the original novel by Roald Dahl is retained in this adaptation by Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach, as I may have only read this book once and don't remember it at all, but I'm pretty sure they took a few liberties here and there, but those only add to the resonating power of the movie with today's audiences. The spirit had to have been kept at least, and I'm sure it was as I heard no complaints otherwise. We can add this to the canon of Roald Dahl movies that I love now along with "James and the Giant Peach" and "Matilda." But I'm glad Wes Anderson worked his magic with this one. It could've only enhanced this story.


I just really love animated movies and the power they have to do anything. There are no restrictions on them as they don't require real actors, and your sense of belief is already suspended as you know there is never a real person talking on screen, so it's not like watching an actor act with CGI all over or behind them, and I think the art of creating an entire world - the people in it, the settings, the noises, everything! - the fact it's all created from scratch is a mighty impressive feat to me. Which is why good animation has always been and will always be very special to me.




Patrick Approval Rating: 10/10




"Fantastic Mr. Fox" @ imdb

Revisiting: The Princess and the Frog (DVD)

Shame on you America. Shame shame same. It's a shame more of you didn't see this movie. "The Princess and the Frog" was heralded as Disney's triumphant return to its roots of hand drawn animation, an art form that has all but died, and this was the movie that was going to change that. Well it's a shame that more people did not see this movie,  because it failed to live up to its promise. And not because it wasn't very good, because it was, but because I worry now that it didn't gross 100 billion dollars at the box office when it was released last November that the future of the return of hand drawn animation is in flux.

"The Princess and the Frog" really is quite a fantastic movie. Sure it's not as good as the classic classic Disney films like "Snow White" or "Pinnochio" or the newer second Golden Age films like "The Lion King" or "Beauty and the Beast" but it holds its own among animated films, and is pretty high up on the list of Disney animated features, in my opinion. And it's miles better than some of the animated dreck that has been shoved out by studios the past few years. 

If you don't know Disney and all things Disney hold a special place in my heart, and I can confidently say I'm obsessed with it. So when I heard about this film back when it was called "The Frog Princess" my expectations were high. I knew it was going to be fantastic. And when I saw it in theaters last November, it lived up to all my expectations and then some. I loved the modern fairy tale setting in 1920s jazzy New Orleans, and maybe wish that more of the movie takes place there than in a swamp, but it's all forgiveable. The characters blew me away. I loved the "princess" of the film, Tiana. Voiced by Anika Noni Rose (from "Dreamgirls"!) she is probably the sassiest and rivals Belle as the most flushed out princess of them all. I adored the "prince" Naveen, who is by far the best prince from a Disney film, not counting Aladdin. He had charisma and a personality and wasn't just a lovey dovey sap as other Disney princes are. Supporting characters Louis the trumpet playing alligator and Ray the Cajun firefly also add quite a bit of humor to the movie, and the delightful Mama Odie (which has to be said like MomMA OHdee to be said correctly) is one of the best cameo characters. 

Seeing the film again for the first time on DVD since its theatrical release I loved it just as much. It's beautiful to watch and funny and charming - everything a Disney film should be. I just can't wrap my head around why it didn't do very well in theaters. If only it weren't for those wretched Chipmunks and their lame Squeakqual than maybe "The Princess and the Frog" would've done better. 

Watching this movie on DVD also begins my attempt at watching and reviewing every Disney animated film before their new animated film, "Tangled" comes out this fall. That will be the 50th in their official canon, believe it or not, and I will attempt to revisit all of them including the elusive one I have never actually seen.

Patrick Approval Rating: 10/10

"The Princess and the Frog" @ imdb

Revisiting: Jesus Christ Superstar (DVD)

I have some lame traditions I do every year such as my not so scary Halloween movies in October or my Christmas-y movies during December and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" smushed somewhere in between the two as I still can't figure out what holiday it correlates best with. But one of the easiest traditions, as it doesn't require a full month of dedicating to movies, is watching "Jesus Christ Superstar" at Easter as I can't think of a better way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus than with a dated rock opera composed by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Which is not to say I don't love this movie. And maybe I don't love the movie as much as I love the music. Despite being written in the very early 70s (the movie came out in 1973) I think the score holds up very well today - and it's one I know almost all of the words too. So if you're looking for a one man production of "JCS," look no further, I'm your man. I think the first time I was exposed to the show was in middle school in music class where we watched this movie. What makes that all the more intriguing was that I went to a Catholic middle school - so I'm surprised this was allowed seeing how it does take some liberties with the Biblical story, but then again, the school's choir would sing songs from "Sister Act" during masses, so maybe it shouldn't be all that surprising. Well what I'm trying to say is that I love the score from this show,  it's one of my favorites, and so that's why I watch this movie every year during the time of year that Christians celebrate the story.

That all being said, I think the movie is sometimes chilling and beautiful to look at, as it was all filmed on location in Israel, which lends the movie some authenticity that the staged remake from 2000 that was all shot on a soundstage lost - but the original has wayyy too much 1973 in its DNA, which makes the movie very dated. I think the concept of a modern troupe of actors telling the story with a modern rock score in the ancient Middle East and shot on ruins of temples and such is awesome, but the modern in that sense, is the modern from almost 40 years ago. Bright fakey colors, outrageous costumes, and old school special effects (including, but not limited to: too much use of slow motion, freeze framing, and overlapping fades) give the movie a very 1970s quality. Not to mention the song "Could We Start Again Please?" which is shot on a mountain side and looks a lot like the "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" commercial from the same era. But I love it all so, and if you take the movie for what it's for, and take in the powerful performances from some great singers it's a good, fun movie and a tradition I'll be keeping for some time.

Happy Easter!


Patrick Approval Rating: 7/10


"Jesus Christ Superstar" @ imdb

Review: Moon (DVD)

It has been a long time since I've actually reviewed a movie on here, and for good reason - it's been a long time since I've actually sat down and watched a movie. Trying to get through all the Oscar movies is a bit of movie overload, so right after it every year I seem to need a post-Oscar movie break, so I just slow down a little on my movie watching, but the Netflix keep coming in and I have a couple of good movies saved on my DVR AND I'm plugging away at watching "Pushing Daisies" at night, and once that's done with, I'll get back to watching more movies.

And this brings me to the movie I watched this afternoon, "Moon." I hadn't heard of "Moon" until I watched the BAFTAs which are Britain's equivalent of the Oscars, and it won the award for Best Debut by a Brit for Director Duncan Jones (who PS is David Bowie's son!) I didn't quite know what to expect but I thought this movie was great.

It was kind of in the same vein as "Alien", with a dash of "District 9", a good portion of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the tiniest part "The Parent Trap" minus the humor and musical number.  The plot concerns Sam Bell, played by a fantastic Sam Rockwell, who faced quite a challenge with this part and was phenomenal. Anyways, Sam Bell works for Lunar, a company who mines Helium from the Moon and sends it back to Earth, providing 70% of the Earth's power. He is up there all by himself and towards the end of his three year contract with the company. He can't wait to get back to Earth to see his wife and new little girl, until when he's out harvesting and gets in a crash. Suddenly he wakes back up in the infirmary under the care of the station's talking and emoting robot, GERTY, voiced by none other than Kevin Spacey, who nurses Sam back to some sort of health. When Sam heads out to the Harvester he crashed into, he discovers the dying body of none other than himself. I'm not going to give the rest away, but the mystery was enough to intrigue me, and even though I could see what was coming for the most part, I loved the whole "is he going crazy? is this really happening? what is going on?" vibe of the story. In the end, not everything is revealed - you're left to either pick up on the subtle clues or to draw your own conclusions, but the movie doesn't make you think super hard, which I appreciate, especially on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I really like this psychology approach to science fiction. When most sci-fi recently has been fighting aliens on foreign planets or transforming robots that have wars with each other, there have been refreshing science fiction like "Moon" or "District 9" that go into the psychology of the characters or who offer up messages - it's smart science fiction.

Sam Rockwell was brilliant in this movie. I have maybe only seen him in one or two other movies, and he's always a good actor, but this movie is HIS movie. Literally, the cast only has 10 people in it, and 8 of them are only shown on video monitors for a few minutes combined, and the other 1 is just the voice of a robot. Without giving too much away, Rockwell acts against himself for the majority of the movie (thus "The Parent Trap" similarities) but never once do you think he's not acting with nobody there.

I probably would've never seen this movie if it didn't pique my interest on the BAFTAs but I'm glad I watched it, and now I'm highly recommending it to you too.


Patrick Approval Rating: 9/10


"Moon" @ imdb

Review: Food, Inc. (DVD)

"You'll never look at dinner the same way again."

That's the tagline from this movie. If I knew how true that was I may have never watched it. I always figured, ignorance is bliss and what you don't know, can't hurt you - so if you are going to brave watching "Food, Inc." like I did, I'm going to warn you - that ignorance is going to give way to knowledge and take away all your bliss you get from food, and you will know things that will hurt your heart and change the way you think about all things food until you're old and have Alzheimer's and forget everything. When the time comes, please - let me eat anything I want to, but until then "Food Inc" has caused me to completely change my diet.

I knew what I was getting into with this. I knew documentaries can be pretty powerful and even as the movie berated me with these awful facts about food, I knew I needed to make sure to research the other side to get a balanced view before making any opinions. But when I ended up reading the ingredients, or going to the big company's websites and not reading denials of the awful things they do, but rather them simply stating they do in fact do these things and that they do it for the benefit of us, I was appalled and shocked.

I originally went into this movie wanting to know more about corn syrup, which, as I learned from watching the disappointing "The Informant!" with Matt Damon, is in everything. Literally most food we consume has some corn syrup, or some deviation of corn syrup in it. I'm not exactly sure why other than to put money into big corporation's pockets. I mean really, does orange juice need corn syrup to taste good? What about pasta sauce? Really? So I wanted to know more about this. What I got was also an in depth look at the food industry as a whole, which also includes the huge soy bean farms and of course, the atrocious meat industry. It really digs deep into the industries, providing factual information to prove their point. It's quite a film, and an impressive one if it is able to have the effect it did on me to every viewer, than that's the power of a good film.

I'm not going to use this review as a soap box to stand on to discuss all the things they do in the film. Watch the movie yourself. Or don't. Make a decision to either want to gain the knowledge about the food we eat and be disgusted, or don't watch and eat in happiness enjoying all your favorites. To me, it's a lose - lose. You either become aware and angry or stay blind and happy. I won't blame you for either, but as I begin a change in my life to become a vegetarian and to read the labels of all the food I buy, just know if you watch "Food, Inc." there is no going back.


Patrick Approval Rating: 9/10


"Food, Inc." @ imdb

Review: Every Little Step (DVD)

If you know me you know that I love TV and movies. And even more so, you may know I especially love things on TV or in the movies that concern either Disney or musical theater. So any combination of those four things make me so excited. For example, a TV special about the filming of a Disney musical movie! Not that one of those exists (actually I'm pretty sure there is), but that's just an example.

Regardless, I love Broadway musicals. I'm sort of obsessed with them, with musical cast recordings on loop endlessly in my car (and we're not just talking "Wicked" or "Rent" here people, I go hardcore with "Follies" or classic with "Mame"), nevermind the fact I own many a musical move adaptation on DVD, something I touched on in my review of one of the latest, "Mamma Mia!" One of these movies I own is, unfortunately, "A Chorus Line" which, even though it's one of my all time favorite musicals, it goes into the category of "stage to screen adaptation that never should have been made in the first place." I'm sure I'll be reviewing it down the line, so I won't get into much detail other than I think the movie is just plain awful. It doesn't work, as the entire plot of the show is about an audition that takes place on stage within the two hours time of the show itself, which is all fine and good for a stage show, but boring as all get out for a movie. Haven't seen it? Don't bother, it will give you the wrong impression of a fantastic musical.

"Every Little Step" is a documentary that chronicles the the audition process for the 2006 "A Chorus Line" revival, so that in itself is a pretty meta concept: a movie about auditioning for a show that's about auditioning for a show. The documentarians gained exclusive access to what it's like to audition for Broadway, going into the audition rooms, call backs, final call backs - what the directors saw, what they thought about people, justifications for certain castings, angry actors, ecstatic actors - as a wannabe director myself, I found the whole process and look into it fascinating. I loved watching the people soar (like Jason Tam whose insanely good audition for the emotional character of Paul in the show made the director of the show AND me cry. His AUDITION!) And I cringed watching the people make fools of themselves (thanks Tyce Diorio, of "So You Think You Can Dance" judging fame who made an ass of himself during the audition being all cocky and then especially after he lost the part. As if I couldn't have hated him more after watching him on SYTYCD, but I do.)

I found myself caring for these actors, wanting them to get the part. They highlighted certain actors or actresses and kind of created character arcs for each of them in the documentary, with only one being able to triumph in the end. The doc follows the same themes of the musical, these dancers give it there all to the audition process - while we get to learn more about them, giving these faceless actors a story, and you care for them because you find out they might not be just another actor. They are a person with dreams, and it all hinges on this one audition. But whereas "A Chorus Line" is a musical, and not real, "Every Little Step" is real, with real people in a very real situation. It transcends the meaning of the show to a whole new level.

The doc also gives us insight to the creation of the musical itself, famously workshopped in New York, and based on the lives of real dancers who recorded their stories on tape with conceiver and director Michael Bennett in 1974. With clips from that audio tape, rare footage of Michael Bennett discussing the concept AND the original Broadway cast staging, interwoven through the film it makes this movie a truly extra special treat for fans of "A Chorus Line" and anybody who loves musical theater. I really just adored this movie, and think it's a must for any musical, Broadway, or theater geek like myself.


Patrick Approval Rating: 10/10


"Every Little Step" @ imdb

Review: Network (DVD)

One of the reasons I got Netflix last year was to catch up on a list movies I should have seen as a movie fan, but haven't yet. So my queue is filled with new and future releases as well as some old classic films, films like 1976's "Network." I knew little about "Network" other than it starred William Holden (who is in one of my favorite classics, "Sunset Blvd.") and Faye Dunaway ( knowing it won a couple of Oscars, most notably a posthumous one for Peter Finch, and that is was way ahead of its time and speaks volumes about todays TV networks.

I know I personally have a lot of issues with the majority of the movies released during the late 1960s/1970s for some reason. I don't know if it was the type of film they used back then, or the style of cinematography, but I don't like the way a lot of them look. Prior to this period, the movies are all in technicolor wonderfulness and somewhere in the early 80s they changed things, but these movies released in the 70s look and often feel very dated to me. "Network" swings both ways here.

Though the film may look dated in certain places, it certainly doesn't feel like it is. The story is surprisingly very relevant to today, with our current TV culture of 24/7 network news stations that sometimes make up news to make news (Balloon Boy 2009 anybody?) or where shows that are based in "reality" are not really "reality" and destroy the show's targets (see the self-destruction of Jon and Kate's marriage because of their fame.) At times I couldn't believe the movie was written in the 70s. So either writer Paddy Chayefsky was psychic OR real TV network execs saw this movie and decided it would be a good idea to everything that the movie was saying wrong.

The network referred to in "Network" is the fourth place, ratings challenged, and floundering UBS, who's evening news is the lowest rated show and so they decide to fire the current news anchor, Howard Beale (played by an intensely crazy Peter Finch, who infamously died between the filming of the movie and winning his Oscar for it.) So Beale goes on a bender on how sucky life is and ends up telling everybody in America over the news that he is going to kill himself on air and to get off their couches, go out to window and scream "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" So they do because he speaks to the inner anguish of the viewers, and so a man with a serious mental problem ends up becoming a national superstar and saves the UBS Network. Some other key players include a wonderfully ruthless, young, you-know-what executive played by Faye Dunaway who also won an Oscar for this part. It's so nice to see her be subtle because the last movie I watched her in was "Mommie Dearest" and that's anything but subtle. Her character is the one who capitalizes on Beale's insanity. William Holden, who got SO old between making this movie and "Sunset Blvd" plays the voice of reason at the network and doesn't like what is happening with Beale. And then the crazy-ass ending where everything goes just a bit too far and the executives decide to kill Beale on the air, and I was kind of left in shock, just because it shows how far people will go for ratings or for entertainment. Here's an example from a couple years ago: Anna Nicole Smith. Someone with serious issues, exploited for TV, and she ends up dead. How this movie know this sort of stuff would happen?!

The plot is way more complicated than what I typed out, and I admit some of the dialogue went WAY over my head, but I did like this movie. The performances of the entire cast really made it awesome. Perhaps not as one of the greatest movies ever made, as it's been called, but I did think it's a very good classic, and an important film.


Patrick Approval Rating: 8/10

"Network" @ imdb

Review: Inglourious Basterds (DVD)

Finally I've finally seen all of the Best Picture nominees! I didn't succeed in seeing all nominated actor and actresses this year, but I saw more than I thought I would, and I set my goal for only seeing the Best Picture nominees this year, so I'm proud of myself nontheless.

And here it is, the final movie I had to see, Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds." So sue me, I'm not a gigantic fan of Tarantino. At least I never thought I was. I hadn't (and still haven't) seen a majority of his movies, with the only exception being "Death Proof" from "Grindhouse," and even that, though I like it, isn't my favorite of the two "Grindhouse" movies. So maybe it's not that I'm not a huge fan, but rather I hadn't given him a chance. Like at all. I assumed I wouldn't like his movies, so I never bothered to see them. I wrote them off as being too violent - which they are - but the violence is done with a smirk. It's not a bang bang shoot them all up and drive in fast cars with guns movie, it's an artfully done violence that kind of makes me smile. I can't describe it.

I've read other critics say that Tarantino purposefully makes you laugh during his movies in places that aren't really supposed to be funny. Like after a Nazi gets his head beaten in with a baseball bat! In real life, not that funny. But in "Basterds" I chuckled. I laughed at being uncomfortable at Christoph Waltz's terrifyingly hilarious Nazi, the "Jew Hunter." Especially the opening scene where he confronts a French farmer who had been hiding Jews under his floorboards. The Jew Hunter was an awful, terrible person - but that barely showed through the cracks of a gentle demeanor, unless he let it flourish, then he was truly scary. No doubt he will win Best Supporting Actor - and he should! He kind of held the whole movie together.

I'm going to try to make it a point this year to see the rest of Tarantino's movies. He has a unique style, kind of a throwback to the 70s, with a modern sensibility. I take it as he's a pretty fearless filmmaker. A couple examples: 1) He does things like direct a period history drama and it looks like everything is period accurate, but then uses a David Bowie song as background music before the climax. Or 2) He has the balls to rewrite WWII and almost create an American fairy tale story where everything turns out perfect. Well, except for the fact that SPOILER ALERT: barely any characters survive.

So I guess I do like his films, and should Netflix them because I really liked "Basterds." A lot. I rented it on iTunes (which was an adventure in itself, I had never done that before, but it's pretty nifty) and watched it in one sitting, totally enthralled. I don't think I even paused it to go to the potty!

Patrick Approval Rating: 10/10

"Inglourious Basterds" @ imdb

Revisiting: Mamma Mia! (DVD)

I figured it was aboot time I reviewed a musical on here. And I say aboot in honor of the Olympics, which ended last night, and consumed much of my last two weeks' time. I'm sad they're done because I'm so obsessed with anything Olympical and I feel like something momentous is happening while they occur, and then a sense of emptiness when they're gone. Another year and half until the next ones. And maybe I'll be attending them? We'll see.

TANGENT OVER. I don't know why I went there, but I did, and now I'm going to revisit "Mamma Mia!" one of the products of the recent movie musical resurgence. Thanks "Moulin Rouge!" I do own this movie on DVD, thanks to my brother getting it for me this past Christmas. I've collected all major movie musicals on DVD since "Moulin Rouge!" because I do love them all, even the bad ones in their own way.  So it was only natural I got "Mamma Mia!" for my movie musical collection.

I'm kind of embarrassed to say I saw this movie twice in theaters. Yep. The first time I thought it was AWFUL. It was a campy piece of dreck. I thought it started out with potential, and then during the song "Money Money Money" when Meryl Streep rises from her seat at the table into the path of a wind machine and fantasizes herself singing the rest of the song in slow motion on a boat, it lost me. 4 realz. I was like, OK, this movie just jumped the shark ten minutes in and my attitude for the rest of the film was spoiled.

Then I saw it again, knowing how campy and bad it was, and accepted it, and let go of the bad, and then, from somewhere deep inside my soul, a gay little sparkle of enjoyment sparkled its sparkly dance and I started to have fun. Watching Meryl Streep let completely loose is such a thrill to watch, and even though some of the singing (and not so much the actual singing as the lipsynching to the bad singing) of Pierce Brosnan is horrendous, I can get through the entire movie and have fun. I've subsequently seen the film two more times after I watched it in theaters, and it grows on me more and more.

By no means is it perfect. The first time film director, Phyllida Lloyd, who also directed the stage incarnation, tries her best to direct a movie, but she is obviously a first timer, and fails to do a lot of things good directors should do. Just certain shots bothered me and seemed amateur-ish and there is way too much slow motion, which actually made me guffaw a couple of times because when the slow motion is used to make something dramatic it actually makes the actors look a little...slow. And not in the speedy sense of the word.

So it's a movie to watch, to not take seriously, and thus to enjoy. Plus the music of ABBA is so darn infectious and catchy you'll be your own "Dancing Queen" for the rest of the day.

Patrick Approval Rating: 6/10

"Mamma Mia!" @ imdb

Review: A Serious Man (DVD)

If you haven't seen a Coen Brothers movie, i.e. "Fargo," "Big Lebowski," or "No Country For Old Men," you're missing on out two absurd ridiculous filmmakers who tend to puzzle audiences into loving their movies. At least that's how I feel about the brotherly directing team. "A Serious Man" is their latest whopdinger of a movie, nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars (happening THIS WEEK! Woof.) so I had to see this one before the big day.

I felt about this movie as I felt about "No Country for Old Men." As it starts I'm all - WHA? Idunngittit. And then I fall asleep. Seriously. I was bored and didn't get it and was also tired, so I fell asleep. When I woke up, I thought about giving it a second chance, and resentfully I do- but only because it's nominated for Best Picture. And then once the first 45 minutes/hour pass and the weird settles into my mind and I just succumb to the movie, I end up liking it (in the case of "Serious Man") or loving it (in the case of "No Country.")

I feel like I could've liked or understood the movie so much more if I was Jewish, or even a Christian who was familiar with the Bible, but I'm neither of those so a lot of the biblical parallels and Jewish in jokes that were apparently in the movie went right over my head. "A Serious Man" was like an ode to Judaism and the race and habits and even stereotypes. I found some parts hysterical, other parts awful and morbid - I guess the Coen Brothers really understand and embrace the meaning of dark comedy. This poor tortured soul, Larry, played by Michael Stuhlberg, is suffering one plague of misfortune after another and he tries to understand why it is happening to him. He is a physics professor, so perhaps there is a mathematical way to understand it all, or perhaps it is God punishing him.

I'm keeping this review short and tidy because of all the Best Picture nominees I've seen (which is 9/10 at this point) it's my least favorite. I'm going to give it an approval rating higher than "The Blind Side" because I think this is a better movie all around with better performances and a lot of thought put into every moment, but when I watch a movie I like to understand it, and it to not go over my head, whereas that's something the Coen brothers always seem to strive for. To puzzle their audience so only the savvy and genius can understand it.


Patrick Approval Rating: 6/10


"A Serious Man" @ imdb

Review: The Hurt Locker (DVD)

After I saw "An Education" I figured why not continue my streak of Oscar movie seeing, especially on this nice long weekend, so I Redbox'd it up at Stop & Stop and rented what I guess is being called the frontrunner for the Best Picture win, "The Hurt Locker."

Firstly, I had to lookup what a hurt locker is, and apparently it's soldier speak for getting messed up real bad. As in when you do get messed up, you're stuck in a locker of hurt. So calling the movie "The Hurt Locker" is kinda like also saying if you're in the army in any way, you're also in somewhat of a permanent hurt locker because you're just asking for pain, especially the guys who this movie is about. It's about a US Army bomb squad in Iraq in 2004 who risk their lives to diffuse bombs that have been placed by insurgents by literally walking up to a bomb and diffusing it with their bare hands. Let's just say the movie is way intense. Here I was last night after a long day of work, seeing my second movie of the day, and I was tired- but I was literally was on the edge of my couch during several scenes, flinching at the possibility of what was coming. It had me right from the first frame all the way until the last in its poweful grip. It's shot almost like a documentary so you forget you're watching a movie - it feels so vividly real and scary. "The Hurt Locker" is a classic suspense thriller, where you know the dangers these characters face and you watch them do it, and it can either end one of two ways - the live, or they die. I loved how director Kathyrn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal could have just let the story run the film, but they didn't. We were given glimpses into who these guys were and why they were doing what they were doing and how they felt about their jobs. Some were conflicted, some thought they were sure of it, but not be, and some did it because it made them feel alive to be so close to death. Not only did we get these clues through dialogue but simple shots with just a closeup or a quick look.

Sidenote: I always enjoy seeing actors I didn't know were in movies pop up in random bits. Like I remember hearing Evangeline Lilly (Kate on "Lost") was in this, but by the time she actually popped up in the movie I was so into it I forgot about her and I was like "OH YEAH!" Other notable cameos included Guy Pierce, Ralph Fiennes, and the Ice Truck Killer from "Dexter." He was one of the most exciting to me because I can't recall seeing him in anything else except for when he scared the pants off me as the serial killer from "Dexter's" first season.

Well, did I enjoy this movie? Yes! Yes I did. Do I think it should win Best Picture? No...no I don't.

Maybe I'm suffering a little "Slumdog" syndrome, where the hype and focus for the big win is for one of the movies I liked, but I didn't like the best. And maybe this just shows that the Academy Award winners don't necessarily mean that movie is the best. I've certainly seen movies that weren't nominated for anything and thought they were better than any movies that won or were nominated. But I think what these awards allow for, and why I get so obsessed with seeing the movies, is that a wider audience becomes aware of and gets to see films that are excellent and should be seen. I may have never seen "The Hurt Locker" if it wasn't nominated for anything, but I'm very glad I did. It's a powerful, affecting movie - a commentary on the war against terror and the soldiers who risk their lives to fight for what and why? But do I think it should win Best Picture? At this point, when I've seen seven of the ten nominees, I'm going to say no. I still think "Up" was the best movie of the year, "Avatar" completely blew me away and made me forget where I was in a theater for a good three hours, and even "Up in the Air" connected with me more than "The Hurt Locker." But it's still a very good movie, and one I'd like to revisit when the Oscar hype is not all up in its grill.


Patrick Approval Rating: 9/10

The Hurt Locker @ imdb

Review: Public Enemies (DVD)

I'm going to take this opportunity to discuss my theory on entertainment and how life syncs with it. I believe every movie, TV show, song, book - anything that you do or watch or read or see for enjoyment is linked to a certain time or memory in your life. You know, you always have that one song that brings you back to that one super awesome moment in your life where you were listening to it driving around in the car at 5AM. Or you have that TV show you watched and for the first time it dawned on you, "This is what TV can be!" But alas, for the purposes of the blog, I'm going to discuss movies but I think the sync-theory applies to all entertainment. It's just that sometimes you sync perfectly with a movie because of where you are watching it, who you are watching it with, what mood you're in, what place you are at in your own personal life and how the movie's themes tie into your own at the time. The experience of how you see a movie affects your enjoyment of it. For example, I may have joined the rest of the majority of Earth to think the movie "Deep Impact" is as awful as it truly is, but it was the first grown-up movie I saw without my parents and for that reason, watching that movie always brings me back to being a scared 12 year old with his best friend Kyle sitting in the crappy movie theater chowing down on popcorn and bawling like a baby when SPOILER ALERT everybody dies in the end. (Except for Leelee Sobieski. Thank goodness she was one of the few who lived. Leelee. For real, that's her name. How sad/awesome.)

That all being said I hated "Public Enemies," the movie I'm supposed to be reviewing here. Maybe in another time, another place, seeing this in the theater when it first came out, seeing it with friends - maybe I would've liked it. Certainly seems like it would be a good fit for me on paper, - Christian Bale (nevermind him as Batman, look for him in "Newsies" - duh,) Johnny Depp (who doesn't love him,) and Marion Cotillard (who over the past two years has become one of my favorite actresses.) I should've liked this movie. I was even waiting for it to come on my Netflix for weeks. Well it arrived January 12th and here we are, Feb. 3rd and I've put it on tonight because I've finally finished watching all of "Lost" before last night's premiere, and this DVD's been a burden holding up the rest of my queue and I needed to get rid of it. So I'm going into the movie not really wanting to watch it. I made myself a dinner during the course of the movie, a dinner I butchered due to my split concentration (a watery mac and cheese with baked beans in which I found pieces of the paper wrapping from the can in after I cooked it because I fought a lengthy battle with my new can opener to get the darn can open.) I had a half and half day at work (half good, half bad) and have my mind on other things. And I'm now writing this blog entry as the movie wraps up. It's been on for two hours, and I've maybe actually only watched 10 or so minutes combined. I tried. It didn't hold my attention. I can't even tell you the general plot.

So maybe I'll revisit "Public Enemies" someday. Maybe when it's on cable, maybe re-add it to my Netflix, or maybe I'll call it even and say "Public Enemies" and I are not meant to be.

Patrick Approval Rating: I didn't pay attention to enough of it to even care.

Public Enemies @imdb

Review: (500) Days of Summer (DVD)

This was one of those movies that I had heard so much about and piqued my curiosity, but somehow got lost in the shuffle of 2009. Finally Netflix delivered the goods and I mean that in more way than one.

I had heard about the comparisons between this and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is one of my favorite movies ever, and the only thing they have in common is the way the stories are told out of order. But whereas Eternal Sunshine should have multiple viewings to fully understand which piece goes where and how they all fit together, (500) Days of Summer has it laid out for all in title cards that come up in between scenes saying which part of the relationship the scene takes place in.

Having an out of sequence plot certainly makes it Not-Your-By-The-Numbers-Romantic-Comedy. Between that and the fact they tell you right from the beginning that the movie is NOT a love story, makes this a romcom for everybody, not just the swoony ladies. And even though it's an indie movie, the film doesn't feel too "indie" like The Science of Sleep, a movie I couldn't even get all the through because it was so WAH? But this movie is smartly written, well acted, wonderfully directed, and walks a tight line between comedy and drama, hipster flick and classic love story.

Basic plot rundown: Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, obviously of 3rd Rock from the Sun fame) and Summer (Zooey Deschanel, who has too many O's in her first name) work at a greeting card company (a plot point I found very funny since I think greeting cards tend to be a bit ridiculous) and Tom's love for Summer lasts 500 days right from the moment they meet until he meets someone new. They breakup right at the beginning of the movie, but then go to the moment they meet at work. See? Out of order.

The most inventive pieces of filmmaking in the movie was the splitscreen for a good 5 minutes between Tom's expectations and reality when he attended a party thrown by Summer around day 440 or so. This was after they had broken up, and Tom had all these ideas of what will happen, as opposed to what did happen. I couldn't decide which one to watch - the happy scene where he sweeps her off her feet and they fall back in love, or the real life scene where Tom spends most of the evening alone and depressed. But how true is something like this to real life? I know I've had expectations and reality is something totally different. That's why I enjoyed the movie as much as I did, because despite all its gimmicks, which didn't even feel like gimmicks, it felt real. I know I've felt like Tom before, and I've felt like Summer before, and I related very much to the characters and the situations.

Plus, any movie that features any sort of musical number makes me giddy, especially a musical number set to Hall & Oates "You're Makin My Dreams Come True" featuring Tom and a bunch of random people wearing blue dancing through a park. It was very "That's How You Know" from Enchanted. But way more hipster-y.

Patrick Approval Rating: 10/10

(500) Days of Summer @ imdb