“Wall•E” Pixar and Disney have not let us down. This is a great movie! The animation is unparalleled. The characters are super likeable. Unlike Toy Story or Monsters, Inc., this one includes a real smash-you-over-the-head-with-a-jackhammer message. Nothing remotely subtle here. One that any environmentalist would be proud of and perhaps a little sad at the realistic prospect of it. I thought it was particularly clever that the only human in the movie was the one responsible for all the damage.
“The Incredible Hulk” Having grown up on the TV series, I was sorely disappointed to hear (notice I did not say see) how badly they made the first Hulk movie. This one not only lives up to it, it even honors it by dropping in a couple of fun elements from the original series. No one can replace Bill Bixby or Lou Ferrigno for me, but Ed Norton does an outstanding job trying. I almost didn’t want to see this movie soley on the basis that I didn’t like how they designed the Hulk (dumb, I know). But he grows on you (not literally). Obviously in the series Banner and the Hulk were different people. Here, since the Hulk is CGI, they could give it Norton’s features, exaggerated of course. Hey, if the creators want to appeal to a wider audience, they really need to think about these things. Chick’s want their guys to look good, even green ones!
Ok–the action was pretty good too.
Although it’s amazing what they can do with special effects, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the CGI department.
“Year of the Dog”staring Molly Shannon, out in video. This is a quirky indie film about a pathetic middle-aged, single woman. She has one friend who is dying to marry her boyfriend who is a cheating SOB. She has an stiffling boss with no sense of humor. She has an upper-middle class brother and sister-in-law who are the overprotective parents of two young children and a neighbor who loves to hunt. But don’t worry, he doesn’t keep any guns in the house–just knives. Polly (Molly Shannon) can only relate to animals and when she loses her beloved beagle to accidental poisening, she gets thrown full on into joining the cause to save the animals. This film is supposed to be a dark comedy. It’s not funny and not worth wasting movie time on. It’s barely worth wasting movie review time on. In fact is just a pathetic little film that you keep hoping will get better but it never does. I generally agree with most critics on films, but not this one.
“Young at Heart” is my latest favorite movie ever. If you thought Calendar Girls was outside the box, you’ve got to see this movie. It will make you laugh, cry, cheer, clap and possibly change your idea of what it means to grow old. Check out their website: http://www.youngatheartchorus.com/
“Lars and the Real Girl” If you like Juno, you’ll like this. This movie takes a deviant path from the social norm of ostracizing those who aren’t like the rest of us. “Lars” takes a look at mental illness in a small Midwestern, conservative town, through the eyes of family, church, co-workers and the community in general. It makes us look at our own attitude toward mental illness and teaches us a lesson in acceptance and kindness. My husband, who generally falls asleep if there isn’t a healthy amount of action and violence, even enjoyed this film. There are a lot of questions in the beginning that have you wondering “what was that all about.” Happily the directors/writers don’t leave you there too long and the answers are sometimes quite surpising and often funny or heartwarming. This movie will make you laugh, make you think and possible even conjure up feelings of compassion for a plastic love doll.
“Kung Fu Panda” Eh–cute. Worth taking the kids for a matinee this summer. It’s not Rattatoui. I agreed to go with my husband because I knew he’d buy me popcorn. He knows I’ll go see just about anything if it involves movie theater popcorn.
“Walk Hard” This is an over-the-top spoof on what’s become a formula story of every iconic singer/musician’s climb to fame. Kinda funny–mostly pathetic and everything I was thinking when I saw “Ray” and, more recently, “I’m Not There”, the Bob Dylan story (another must miss if not for the exceptional Cate Blanchett). By the time “Ray” came out I was soooo sick of following the bright and adorable musical protegy from humble beginnings through marriage to his high school sweetheart, fathering numerous children, finding fame and fortune, abandoning his family for the wide open road, discovering drugs and access to the unlimited shameless women. Then the other woman or even other family and ultimately divorce from family and band. Arrrrrrrrrgh. We could have saved so much time and money if Walk Hard came out first with the subtitle “The Rise and Fall of Every Poor Country, Blues, Jazz and Folk Singer Who’s Now Mostly Dead.” (As of this post, I’m pretty sure Bob Dylan is still kicking around).
