Whip It

courtesy of http://www.filmofilia.com

When I sat down to watch Whip It, I was skeptical of whether or not I’d enjoy it.  I had previously attempted the Ellen Page-fronted Juno years ago hated – no loathed it.  I fit the demographic to a ‘T’: music and film nerd of epic proportions, feminist, sassy and sarcastic – that’s me through and through.  The problem I had with Juno lay completely in the writing.

Diablo Cody’s personal background intrigued me.  A “riot grrl”, if you will; stripper-turned-screenwriter – I was definitely interested in what she had to say.  It turns out that she didn’t have much to say that was of interest to me.  The dialogue was painfully forced and juvenile, the band dropping was way over-done, and the mise-en-scene was so faux kitschy that my brain rejected the notion of even trying to take it all in.  A person can only take so much hipster-branded irony, and Juno proved to not know where to stop.  But what does all of this have to do with Whip It?

Admittedly unjust in my initial reaction upon seeing the trailer for the film, I rejected the idea because it looked like Juno tries roller derby.  I expected the same forced dialogue and “look at me, I’m so cool because I know who The Melvins are and have a hamburger phone” attitude that oozed from Juno‘s celluloid.  I was pleasantly surprised to be proven dead wrong.

Whip It tells the story of Bliss Cavendar, a 17 year old Texan whose mother wants her to become a beauty queen.  Bliss goes to pageant after pageant at her mother’s urging, and never wins.  She’s a painfully awkward teen who has one friend and works at the local barbecue joint with her sole friend, Pash, and their manager “Birdman”.  One day, during a shopping trip, Bliss sees a roller derby team advertising their next match.  After much urging, she and Pash manage to sneak to the match, where Bliss’ world is turned upside down.

I found myself interested in Ellen Page’s painfully shy and awkward Bliss Cavendar.  I loved the way she and Brooke Cavendar (Marcia Gay Harden) played off of one another.  Don’t we all know what it’s like for our parent(s) to have one wish/hope/dream for us and for us to want to veer off in the completely opposite direction?  Even greater than the dynamic between Bliss and her mother, Brooke, was her lone friendship with Pash (Alia Shawkat).  It was so nice to see a character completely blossom around her best friend, and without any sort of pressure!  These two girls had a very strong relationship, and you could tell without having them to spell it out.  I also really enjoyed watching the interactions between the derby ladies.  Juliet Lewis really blew her role as ‘Iron Maven’ out of the water.  This truly was the best I’ve ever seen her, and probably the only time I’ve actually enjoyed a character that she’s played.  Kristen Wig’s ‘Maggie Mayhem’ was lovely and subtle; a nice change from the goofball characters she generally plays.  In addition to the characterization, the derby scenes were amazing and so much like every derby match I’ve ever been to.  Let’s face it, watching women kick major ass is never dull.

As with almost every film, there was an awful lot about Whip It that I didn’t like.  To begin, Bliss’ relationship with small time-attempting-to-make-it-big rocker Oliver (Landon Pigg) felt unnecessary.  While I liked the overall portrayal of the relationship, it felt written in solely that we could have an excuse for Bliss and Pash to test their friendship (in the form of a fight, naturally).  As with Juno, I didn’t appreciate Whip It’s band name-dropping and the “irony” (Bliss wearing a Stryker tee).  I felt some scenes were forced, simply as a means to have characters having an excuse to interact, or as an attempt at forced humor (hot tub scene with Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Johnny Rocket’).  I also felt that Drew Barrymore’s ‘Smashley Simpson’ was the most obnoxious and juvenile character, and Eve’s ‘Rosa Sparks’ was merely a token with no real place other than to be the one-liner girl.

Overall, this was a job well-done for first time director Drew Barrymore.  While a good bit of the film felt like filler, there was enough substance and weight that it made the extras okay.  The actors did a fantastic job of playing off one another and the story was solid.  It was truly refreshing to see a film of strong and loving female relationships that didn’t revolve around shopping and men.  Whip It is a fantastic example of the types of films that that women and young girls need to see more of; Alison Bechdel would be proud.

Inception

courtesy of http://jatufilmrev.wordpress.com

I first saw a trailer for Christopher Nolan’s latest one year ago.  From the moment that I saw the trailer (which, admittedly, didn’t show much of anything), I knew that I just had to see this movie.  I eagerly awaited for the year to pass so that I could see it, and knew that I was going to view it on the day that it opened.

While I am a huge fan of Nolan’s work (I’ve been hooked ever since 2000′s Guy Pearce fronted Memento), I would hesitate to call myself a “fanboy/fangirl” of his.  Nolan’s track record speaks for itself.

Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb, a deeply troubled and complex man who is a corporate spy with the job of gathering/”extracting” (or stealing, if you will) information from the subconscious of powerful people.  He is [self] proclaimed as being the best at what he does.  However, Cobb does not work alone.

He has a partner named Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is in charge of searching the background of the people whose subconscious Cobb will enter.  If there is a security risk, Arthur knows about it and together, he and Cobb battle to get their goods.

Where the story begins is in the middle of a job that Cobb is doing on a very powerful businessman named Saito (Ken Watanabe).  Saito is so impressed with Cobb that he ropes him into doing a big, nearly impossible job called, (you may have guessed it) inception.

What inception is, is to plant an idea into the subconscious mind of someone and have them believe that they came to the idea naturally.  Who Saito wants Cobb to “incept” is the son of a very powerful business tycoon who is soon to have an untouchable monopoly, named Fischer (Cillian Murphy).  In the natural progression of things, there is a lot of arguing back and forth over whether it can be done and the risks involved.

Naturally, they agree to it.

Cobb then formulates a very powerful team of “inceptors” and they hatch a plan for how to make the scheme work, successfully.  There is a lot of emotional extortion involved, as well as some devious three-part, lucid dream scheming.  No stone is left unturned.

Inception is a beautifully choreographed film of epic proportions.  The dream world is breathtaking, and at times you’re not really sure if the world you’re in actually exists.  It is a visually stunning mix of real stunts and real moving sets seamlessly blended with CGI-effects.  In fact, the CGI is so impeccable, that you never feel as though you’re in some cartoony space.

It takes a while to get into the characterization of the people – presumably because the filmmakers first want the viewers to get accustomed to the world of dreams.  The pacing is such that one never feels rushed or forced into grasping concepts and motivations, and is very deliberate.  Ultimately, you find yourself vested in every character, and wanting the job to succeed.

Christopher Nolan orchestrates a beautiful and virtually flawless script that does very well to depict the world of lucid dreams.  In fact, Nolan’s script and visuals work so well that the entire audience was captivated into silence for the full 148 minute run-time.  It is definitely a must-see, groundbreaking film that will be talked about for a very long time.

Alice In Wonderland

Courtesy of okmovietrailers.com

I am going to admit that I wasn’t terribly thrilled about Tim Burton taking on Alice In Wonderland.  I have always been a fan of the Lewis Carroll books, and I immensely enjoy the original Disney rendition.  I will even admit that at first glance, it is a pairing that makes complete sense.  Wonderland is a kooky place full of wacky and fun characters; and historically, Tim Burton was the go-to guy for kooky, fun and lovable characters (see: Vincent).  In the past ten years, however, Burton has become formulaic and his film-making a bit tired.  It could be that I was a kid when Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Vincent came out, thus rendering me used to Burton’s film style; it could be that Burton has become a one trick pony; or, it could simply be that I am an adult now, and it takes a lot more to impress me.  Either way, I saw this as a “more of the same” opportunity for Burton.

I did not let my initial misgivings taint my movie-going experience.  In fact, I went in fully prepared to be proven wrong.  I was curious to see how the back story of Alice re-visiting Wonderland would play out.  I also was curious (“curiouser and curiouser”) to see the possible motivation behind CGI-ing some of the main characters (i.e. Helena Bonham Carter’s bulbous head).  The final thing that I was looking forward to was Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts.

The plot of Burton’s Alice In Wonderland is as follows: Alice, now 19, is set to be engaged to a Lord whom she has minimal interest in.  While Alice is living her life in the real world, Wonderland is having some turmoil of its own.  The Red Queen, having stolen the throne from the White Queen, has turned Wonderland on its head, and is torturing the creatures of Wonderland.   The creatures have banded together to search for the “Real Alice” to come and fight the Red Queen’s Jabberwocky and return the throne to the White Queen.  After searching far and wide, they have finally found her… Or have they?

I was pleased with Mia Wasikowska as Alice.  I enjoyed her very much in the HBO series In Treatment and was excited to see that she did a great job playing a sweet girl.  She did so with a bit of spunk, as well, and turned Alice into a bit of a heroine that little girls could surely look up to.  That was a very nice addition to the story.

Helena Bonham Carter was decent as the Red Queen, but not spectacular.  I find that it’s difficult to be Wowed by her when she’s doing so much of the same.   Another performance that I was not impressed by was Anne Hathaway as the White Queen.  Watching her made me uncomfortable, in fact.  She seemed to be stuck on stealing Billie Burke’s performance as Glinda, the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz; and her arms seemed to be stuck in one position for the entire film.  I also didn’t quite understand the choices behind her costuming.

Crispin Glover was good as the Knave (the Red Queen’s henchman, essentially).  At first, I thought he was going to ham/weird it up a bit, but he toned it down quite nicely.  He had an air of understated creepiness, and played villain very nicely.  His part was also bigger than I thought it would be, which was also nice.

Finally, there’s Johnny Depp’s performance as the Mad Hatter.  I saved his performance for last because I had the most issue with it.  I have actually been having issues with a few of Depp’s performances lately.  I don’t know what it is, but it seems that ever since his first Pirates of the Caribbean film, he’s simply been coasting.  His accent as the Hatter was Jack Sparrow with the occasional slip into Scottish, and his performance was a bit too crazy.  It was almost as if Depp came unhinged on the set and they managed to capture it all on film.

In addition to J. Depp’s batshit crazy Mad Hatter, there was a very uncomfortable sexual tension undertone between the Hatter and Alice written in.  It was super uncomfortable to watch because, although Alice is 19 when she re-visits Wonderland, we’re still viewing her almost as a child.   And because Johnny Depp was the biggest star in the film, this story arc managed to put the Hatter into the film much more than he originally should have been.

In all, the story was well written.  The additional storyline was not overdone nor did it seem unnecessary.  That said, the execution was fairly lame.  The Danny Elfman music score was pretty much the same as in Burton’s other films, and some of the acting left more to be desired.  The costume design was also fairly uninspired (as well as being uninspiring) – though, I was able to pick out all of the pieces we’ll wind up seeing being recreated.

Visually, the film was okay.  There were a couple of shots that were neat, but they were few and far between.  In fact, I find it fairly difficult to be wowed by a slew of computer graphics.  This is another reason I find Tim Burton’s films to be tired.  If he ever bothered having actual set design and didn’t  rely heavily on computer graphics and CGI, I would probably not be as bored when watching his films.

This film, while it very much wanted to impress, was plain boring.  It relied too much on gimmicks such as 3D, IMAX and technology, instead of showcasing what filmmakers are actually capable of.  The acting, for the most part, felt either too forced or too flat.  The costume and musical scores felt very uninspired, and we were left with a mediocre film that was attempting to disguise itself as great.

Perhaps Burton’s next venture will present a change of pace.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Courtesy of austincinephile.com

Quite a bit late to the game, I went to see Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox last night.  Based on the book by Roald Dahl, the story follows Mr. Fox, his family, and friends as they have adventures and mishaps – all due to Mr. Fox’s mischievous nature.

After settling down with a newspaper column (after finding out that Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep) was with child), Mr. Fox (George Clooney) decides that he no longer wishes to live in a hole – but a tree instead.  Not only that, but he longs for the days when he was stealing birds from farmers.  It is then that he decides to take on the three biggest/most successful farmers there are – Boggis, a chicken farmer; Bunce, a duck and goose farmer; and Bean an apple farmer who makes a mean [alcoholic] cider (voiced by Michael Gambon).

Mr. Fox comes up with a master plan, and with the aid of his possum friend, Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky), they put the plan into action.  Each night, they successfully hit each farm, until they come to Bean’s apple farm where they run into a bit of trouble from Rat (Willem Dafoe), Bean’s cider security guard.  Much to their luck, they’ve enlisted the help of Fox’s nephew, Kristofferson Silverfox (Eric Anderson), an ace athlete who takes Rat down and they manage to escape.  From there, the farmers decide to wage war on Mr. Fox, his family, and the entire underground animal kingdom.

This film, with original music by Jarvis Cocker (as Petey), is such a delight.  It’s really fun to watch stop-motion, the attention to detail is very clever – there is a romantic scene between Mr and Mrs Fox with this song from Disney’s Robin Hood playing softly in the background; and it is wildly funny!

Normally, I am not terribly excited about this; however, I am pleased that I got to see this film in a theatre with children, as I can attest to how much they also enjoyed it and were laughing right along with the adults.  Therefore, parents, if any of you are worried that your children may not enjoy this – rest assured that kids love it.

I have always enjoyed Wes Anderson’s films, and this film certainly is no exception.  It’s got the feel (and soundtrack) of his live-action films, but with a little extra.  I definitely hope to see more animation from him in the future, as you can tell that he (along with everyone else) had so much fun with this one.  It is definitely not to be missed.

The imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

courtesy of www.filmofilia.com

The second film in my “Tom Waits double feature” was Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.  This was a film that I had been anticipating because, not only was Tom Waits’ role huge, but I have a soft spot for carnivals and magic.  In those areas, this film surely delivered.  It was a wonderland for the eyes; however, before I get into that, onto the story!

Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is a former monk (of sorts) with the gift of wielding the imaginations of others, who made a bet with the devil [who goes by Mr. Nick (Tom Waits)] many centuries ago.  He won that bet, which granted him immortality.  However, centuries later, upon falling in love with a young woman, he made a deal with Mr. Nick, which resulted in him trading his first born child (who, at the age of 16, would belong to Mr. Nick) for youth.  Determined to keep his daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole), Dr. Parnassus makes another bet with Mr. Nick – the first to gather five souls, will be the winner of Valentina.  We watch as Dr. Parnassus and his crew of three take their traveling show across London with the hopes of gathering the souls he needs, before the day Valentina turns 16.

The juxtaposition of the modern day, real world with the world of the imagination works wonders, visually.  The film looked absolutely amazing and fantastic.  The traveling caravan in which Parnassus and crew lived and performed was also wondrous.  It appealed to the part of me that is fascinated with sideshow freaks, traveling carnivals of the 30′s, old world Eastern Europe, and gypsies.

This movie has been getting a lot of attention, mostly due to it being the last film in which Heath Ledger had a role (and filmed his last ever scene).  He was lovely and charming and funny as Tony, but for me, Tom Waits stole the show every time he was on screen.  At times, it seemed as if he was channeling his song The Black Rider, he was as cool as one could ever hope to be.  Verne Troyer was actually quite entertaining as Percy – the realistic slap in the face to Dr. Parnassus, and Andrew Garfield as Anton was cute.  Johnny Depp and Jude Law were fantastic as Heath Ledger’s “others” when Tony would travel into the Imaginarium; Colin Ferrell was a bit off, however.  Where Depp and Law are naturally funny and charismatic men, Ferrell seemed a bit forced in his attempting to be light and jovial.

The writing and direction seemed to be a bit jumbled at times.  It could have been that the story was made to be overly complicated, but it just seemed a bit off.  There were moments when the story dragged, moments when it seemed to be too speedy and incoherent.  But, overall, it was okay.

The original score did wonders in aiding the visuals.  This made this movie a feast for the senses.  In all, it wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t great.  I would recommend seeing it, if for nothing other than the performance of Tom Waits.  The man was so cool, he would’ve charmed the soul from a nun.

The Book of Eli

courtesy of www.overone.biz

Yesterday, I decided to have a “Tom Waits double feature”.    The first movie of the two was the Hughes Brothers’ The Book of Eli.  I remember first seeing the trailer at my viewing of Zombieland, and thinking, “this just looks like ‘I Am Legend’ but with more people.” Boy was I off.

Denzel Washington stars as Eli, a lone wanderer going to an undisclosed location (“West.”) in post-apocalyptic California.  Along the way, he has the occasional fight, kills a cat, eats it, feeds a bit to a mouse, and listens to his iPod.  He’s gruff, he’s tough.  He’s a loner.

While on his path, he comes to a post-apocalyptic town that resembles a town from a western, except where there would be a saloon, you see a faded “J. Crew” (there’s product placement all over this sucker).  While in town, he visits the local electrician (Tom Waits) to get his battery pack re-charged (can’t listen to that iPod without it!).  While waiting for the charging to be complete, he wanders over to the bar for some liquid refreshment – water (“that’s the good stuff”).

You see, in post-apocalyptic California (possibly the world), it’s extremely dry, hasn’t rained in decades, the water is scarce and there’s no soap.  This is the driving force behind the insanity of so many.  Though, I guess I’d be pretty loony myself, if I had to be dehydrated and stinky all the time… but, I digress.

So Eli walks into a bar, asks for some water; bartender says, “it’ll cost ya!”  And boy, does it!  It turns out, J. Crew town is run by a man named Carnegie (Gary Oldman).  He’s old, loves his books, and is searching for the right one (the bible) that’ll give him world domination.  It just so happens that Eli is the one who is in possession of that book (the bible).

There’s a large bar fight, Carnegie attempts to recruit Eli, Eli declines and wanders off to continue his mission.  Oh, also along the way, a young woman named Solara (Mila Kunis) decides that she wants to tag along with him.  You see, she and her mother, Claudia (Jennifer Beals) are Carnegie’s “kept” women, and Eli can provide safety and get her out of that mess.

There are more hijinks – Solara gets knocked around and nearly raped, Eli saves her; Solara and Eli run into some cannibals, a fight breaks out; Carnegie’s men track Eli, Solara gets in the middle of it.  Carnegie gets Eli’s book (the bible); Eli and Solara come to their destination.

Ending is left open for a sequel (The Book of Eli 2: The Wrath of Solara).

It was a choppy, poorly written mess with a single agenda: propagate Christianity.  You see, the new world is without religion, and is full of people who can’t read.  The only ones who are literate are the ones who hung around from the old world.  All along the way, Eli prays (before meals, after kills, before bed, upon waking, etc etc etc) and Solara wants to know what the deal is.  Eli also gives a lovely little speech about being so engrossed in protecting the bible, that he forgets to act like a Christian.

Carnegie wants the bible because he knows that people “need something to follow” and will come all over for the words that are “in that book!”.  Therefore, if he has possession of the book, he’s pretty much guaranteed world domination.  He’ll run a number of towns, open a few churches, et voila!

I give Denzel, Gary, Tom, and even Jennifer credit.  They tried hard to put powerhouse performances behind their poorly written characters.  Mila Kunis, well… she was there.  In the end, the film wasn’t terribly engaging and felt much too preachy.  The characters weren’t properly characterized and were as desolate as the backdrop in which they lived.

The Princess and the Frog

Courtesy of www.nerdsociety.com

The second of my “double feature Christmas” was the latest Disney princess film, The Princess and the Frog.  Upon first hearing about this film, I was super excited that Disney was releasing a hand-drawn cartoon again.  Then, hearing that this film took place in Jazz Age New Orleans made me both excited and confused.

I thought this was a princess movie – how is that going to work? Leave it to Disney to find a way.

I’m also not going to lie – I was one of the ones who was excited that Disney was introducing its first black princess.  Initially, I couldn’t understand what the big deal was, nor why everyone was making it such.  Then, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to get excited about it.  Disney has now had princesses from all walks of life.

Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) is the heroine/main character of this film.  She plays a woman who dreams only of opening her own restaurant, and works extremely hard to do so – to the dismay of those surrounding her.  “I told you she wouldn’t come dancing” says one of her disappointed friends upon having the invitation turned down.  It seems that Tiana merely needs to learn to lighten up.

One day, around the time of Mardi Gras, a prince (Bruno Campos) named Naveen is coming to New Orleans, and everyone is up in arms about it.  Balls are being planned, a very rich friend of Tiana’s, Charlotte (Jennifer Cody), is planning to have him marry her.  We’re talking big deal.

Naturally, a villain also has his sights set on the prince.  This villain is named Dr. Facilier, or The Shadow Man (Keith David), and he oozes around the film like a mash-up of Jafar (Aladdin) and Scar (The Lion King).  He’s into his voodoo and black magic and devises a very devious plan which causes Prince Naveen, and ultimately Tiana, to become frogs.

In typical Disney fashion, there are talking/singing/dancing non-human creatures, hijinks, and songs galore.  The fairy godmother character is named Mama Odie (Jennifer Lewis) and she’s as fun as Grandmother Willow (Pocahontas).  It’s too bad that she’s not in the film for very long.

In all, this was a fun and cute film.  It was really nice to see Disney return to 2D animation.  The story was good and the characters were enjoyable.  Major points for setting!  What better place than the bayou, and what better time than the 20′s?

Sherlock Holmes

Courtesy of www.torrentfive.com

In my typical Christmas tradition, yesterday, I treated myself to a double-feature at the expensive theatre (with the $12.25 popcorn/Coke combo).  One of the two films I saw was Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law (as Watson).  I’ve been a decent fan of Holmes since I was a kid – as far as watching the old Sherlock Holmes movies.  I can’t say that I thought the film looked spectacular, but I figure it’d be entertaining.

In this particular episode of Sherlock Holmes’ adventures, he and Watson solve the case of a brutal serial murderer who is plaguing London, and Watson oversees the man’s hanging – pronouncing him officially dead.  After months of inactivity, Holmes finally gets an intriguing case when his arch-nemesis/love interest, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) asks him to find a missing person.  Upon finding him, they also find that the previously deceased killer has returned from the dead.

The plot thickens.

We watch as Holmes and Watson adventure all over London’s less-than-glamorous streets and waterways, see some occult action, and get some one-liners here and there.  In all, not a bad time at the movies.

While Holmes may have plot holes, far-fetched storylines, and some cheese, it serves its purpose as mindless entertainment for the holiday season.  Robert Downey Jr. is marvelous (as usual) as Holmes, and Jude Law and Rachel McAdams play off him nicely.  Eddie Marsan does a decent job as head inspector of the Scotland Yard who frequently bumps heads with Holmes.

As a fan of the Victorian era, the most riveting part of the movie were the sets, the costumes, and the props.  They were absolutely magnificent and breathtaking.  It’s always fun to see Victorian London in action because it’s absolutely alive in a way that no other place can match.  The street vendors, the underbelly, the grime and muck contrasted by the well-polished, corseted and waist-coated aristocratic women and men travelling through the streets either on foot or by horse-drawn carriage – it’s a thing of beauty.  The London that Holmes and Watson travel through is a steampunk fan’s Wonderland.

Another component to the film was Guy Ritchie’s directorial touch.  There were small pieces of cinematography that were notably Ritchie’s handiwork.  This was possibly most notable during Holmes’ bare-knuckle brawl.  The deliberate slowing and punctuated movement as Holmes analyzed his next moves, immediately followed up by sped-up action (a-la Snatch) tends to be Ritchie’s signature.

In all, while it’s not the most genius film ever made, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes definitely doesn’t disappoint in entertainment value.  I felt that I got my money’s worth, as it matched my expectations perfectly.

Coraline

Courtesy of pgteenspace.wordpress.com

This film belongs in a category that I call, “I really, really wanted to like it”.  I have been a huge fan of stop-motion animated films for my entire life (I grew up watching Wallace & Gromit, Creature Comforts, Vincent, etc.), and as such, I get really excited when I see that there are new stop-motion films made.

Coraline is an adaptation of the Neil Gaiman book (that, sadly, I have never read) of the same name.  It is about a little girl, named Coraline, who moves to a new town, and into a strange apartment complex – called the Pink Palace – with her workaholic parents.  After being repeatedly brushed aside and ignored by her parents, she explores and finds an alternate world which houses “Others” (versions of the inhabitants of the real world, but with buttons for eyes and different personalities).

Having not read the book, I cannot comment on how faithful this adaptation was, but I had a lot of issues with it.  For starters, while I realize that the story is told through the eyes of Coraline, the parents came off as overly harsh and neglectful.  It seemed as if whenever Coraline would even so much as speak to, or be in the same room as, one of her parents, she was immediately met with, “Go away, Coraline”.

There was also one scene that took place in the “Other world” that was really bothersome.  It involved a burlesque show put on by two of her female neighbors.  In a film that is geared, specifically towards children, I don’t exactly feel comfortable with a scene involving large breasts being exposed with only tiny seashells to cover the nipples.  I was pretty horrified to see that happen – even if it was only for a short while.

The film also took “creepy” to the extreme.  As a child, I personally would have been fine with it, but I was not like most children.  There is a boy (who I am hesitant to call Coraline’s friend – as she’s as mean to him as her parents are to her) whose “Other” has his mouth sewn shut, so as to prevent him from speaking, and ultimately irritating Coraline.  The villainous “Other Mother” was also quite terrifying when she went on her psycho tirades (think Jack Nicholson in The Shining).

The storyline was a bit much to follow, especially while taking in the scenery and characters.  In fact, in some spots, it seemed to get a little muddled.  This could be due to the waxing and waning pace that the film seemed to take.  It was never quite sure whether it wanted to be a slow-paced film, or a fast-paced one; some scenes seemed to drag while others flew by.  The film ended up being a bit messy.

With the above said, the best part of the film was just how visually stunning it was.  It was darkly vibrant and the attention to detail in the set design was impeccable.  The musical score (Bruno Coulais) was also well done – it’s nice to know that you can get great animated film scores from composers other than Danny Elfman.

In all, I am glad that I’ve seen this film, but it left much to be desired.

Monsturd

Courtesy of rockwitch.com

I was in the mood for shitty (no pun intended) movie that would render a chuckle or two.  Thank goodness for Netflix!  I saw this little gem on the instant watch list, and it just screamed at me.

In Butte County, California, an imprisoned serial killer manages to break free.  He seeks refuge in the sewer, while being chased by the police and FBI.  However, little do they know that a morally/ethically bankrupt scientist has polluted the sewer with man-eating, bacterial sludge.  The killer gets eaten alive by the sludge, and turns into a man-eating shit monster.

This movie is fun, and funny.  As a spoof, not only of those 1950′s horror/sci-fi films, but also the modern cop dramas on television, it does a good job of not leaving a single stone unturned.  Nothing is sacred in this film that is chock full of “toilet humor” (I’m on a roll tonight), gross-out gags, puns, and a soundtrack that is specially tailored for this film (that “Number 2″ song is darn catchy).  It is also full of the worst acting I have seen since Troll 2 (be still, my heart), terrible cinematography, and terrible… well, it’s all around terrible; with the exception of the shit-monster.  The monster is clearly where the budget of this film went, because it is a work of art – you can almost smell this poo coming off the screen when that thing is on.

I can appreciate a film that knows it’s bad, and just runs with it – which is exactly what this film did.  You could tell that everyone had a blast making it, and as such, I had a blast watching it; all the while, shaking my head in disbelief that someone actually thought of this storyline, and then created it.

This is the type of film that only a select type of person will enjoy.  If you are entertained by poop jokes, puns, and cheesy one-liners, this is the movie for you!  I also think that those who enjoy the films that Troma put out, you will probably enjoy this film.  It’s definitely not for the squeamish!