Up is a delightful story - beautiful, touching and powerful.
As much as I'd love to support Pixar, I'd be more inclined to recommend Up as a film that people watch privately in their homes, if only to make the film more of the intimate experience that it is. Believe me when I tell you how unfortunate it can be when some of the most heart-wrenching moments of the film are interrupted by the shuffling of feat of other little noise distractions that are exacerbated in the open-forum nature of the movie theater.
As intimate and touching as the film is, it almost seems like the film is trying to purposely manipulate you into sadness. Take for example the character of Russel the child. I will. not say how, but they keep tacking on things into his background that try to squeeze every last drop of emphasis out of your emotional grab bag (probably not the best way of putting it, but hopefully you get the idea).
Indeed, even the opening 10 minutes of the film are some of the best 10 minutes in film storytelling in years. Notice how I didn't say animation, as Pixar (and indeed the medium in general) has moved beyond the restrictions of "master animators" and stepped into the forum of "master storytellers" (though the starting point of the latter could be argued for some time, i.e. they've been master storytellers for roughly the past decade).
It's a solid tale that has plenty of mild humor, if not a constant comedy tone. Up's humor is more light-hearted in nature.
Probably the best way to describe the film is a mix between character study and coming-of-age, even if the characters aren't all children. Up is a very human tale, with a rather human presentation and it makes it all the better.
Not surprisingly, the film is excellently scored by composer Michael Giacchino, who only gets better with each project he takes on. He's often been called a modern John Williams, and listening to Up you can definitely hear that as the film sounds and feels like Star Wars.
Speaking of which, Up does a very good job with it's action scenes, becoming very reminiscent of Star Wars. The opening of the film even has a Citizen Kane vibe to it. Considering how those two films are held in such high regard, any combination can only be considered good.
As great as Up is, if you have to see it in theaters, do yourself a favor and wait a couple of weeks for the crowd to die down. Otherwise, just wait until the Blu-ray for that purely intimate experience.
For those curious, my order of favorites for Pixar films is Incredibles, Ratatouile, tie between Wall-E, Up, and probably Finding Nemo (need to rewatch), followed by the Toy Story films, then A Bug's Life (haven't seen Cars yet; shame, I know)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Drag Me To Hell movie review
Sam Raimi's latest film is a return to his comedy-horror routes. Take note the order and emphasis on which genres I put the film in (comedy first, horror second).
The film is a nonstop joyride of shock horror thrills. But, surprisingly to those uninitiated to Raimi's horror styles, it's all in good fun.
As far as the plot/story goes, all you need to know is that a girl wanting a promotion, and in an effort to show leadership, refuses a loan to a gypsy, angering the gypsy who then places a curse on the girl. What entails thereafter is some of the most enjoyable 90 minutes of movie-going you'll probably experience this year (or maybe have experienced in the past several years).
Drag Me to Hell is a rather tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek horror satire, where Raimi, a master of his craft, perfectly sets up the audience for the standard horror shock thrill, but tweaks it just enough to surprise the audience every time. To clarify, some of the tricks he uses is that he will set the audience up thinking that the scare is in one frame, but delaying it to the next. Or having something happen in the peripheral. Subtle tricks that keep the audience on the edge of their seat in anticipation of the next thrill. But the beauty of it is that it's never so much as scary as it is fun.
Special acknowledgment to composer Christopher Young who is in top-notch form for the film, yet again bringing his beautiful musings to another horror film.
Drag Me to Hell is one of the most enjoyable PG-13 films to come out in some time. It's nearly 100 minutes of pure, unadulterated, theme park ride-type thrills, and I can't recommend it highly enough.
Seriously, go see it now. It's the type of film you absolutely have to see in theaters with a group of people to properly enjoy it.
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