This seemingly light, quirky indie flick is a heavy ride. However, it never falls into maudlin or melodrama. Amy Adams, who I've never seen as more than a romcom fluff puff, handles the dramatic lead with grace and skill. Alan Arkin is fabulous as always. Would I be happy spending theater prices to see the movie? No. Did I enjoy it enough to rent? Definitely.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Up
When Up was in the theaters, H and I wanted to see it and were in a particularly rough spot in our infertility struggle. Before we could go one of my co-workers warned me that the first ten minutes would not be healthy for us. So, we skipped it.
I'm glad we skipped it when we did. I'm also glad that we decided to watch it on Netflix the other night. It is one of the best movies I've seen in a while.
As one would expect with a Pixar movie, the animation is top notch. Even in 2D the images pop off the screen. The action is smooth and the back drops are lush.
What makes the movie so good is the story. Up is more than just a fluffy kids movie. It deals with some tough issues in an honest way. It accepts that kids can handle things without sugar coating. There is loss, death, failure, missing parents and some scary things, but still manages to be a fun movie that kids will enjoy.
The most impressive part of this impressive movie is it's first ten minutes. They are a masterpiece of story telling. They convey an entire life of loss and joy. They also perfectly set up the movie's main themes. When the main section of the movie starts, you feel like you know the main character. You understand his pain and know his inner strengths.
It is a testament to the quality of the film that the old man's character stays true throughout the movie. When he has his epiphany, it is consistent with his charter. His actions following the epiphany is also consistent with his basic nature.
I highly recommend Up.
I'm glad we skipped it when we did. I'm also glad that we decided to watch it on Netflix the other night. It is one of the best movies I've seen in a while.
As one would expect with a Pixar movie, the animation is top notch. Even in 2D the images pop off the screen. The action is smooth and the back drops are lush.
What makes the movie so good is the story. Up is more than just a fluffy kids movie. It deals with some tough issues in an honest way. It accepts that kids can handle things without sugar coating. There is loss, death, failure, missing parents and some scary things, but still manages to be a fun movie that kids will enjoy.
The most impressive part of this impressive movie is it's first ten minutes. They are a masterpiece of story telling. They convey an entire life of loss and joy. They also perfectly set up the movie's main themes. When the main section of the movie starts, you feel like you know the main character. You understand his pain and know his inner strengths.
It is a testament to the quality of the film that the old man's character stays true throughout the movie. When he has his epiphany, it is consistent with his charter. His actions following the epiphany is also consistent with his basic nature.
I highly recommend Up.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Snow Falling on Cedar
Last weekend H and I were looking for something to watch and resorted to Netflix to escape the dismal options on our thousands of cable stations. One of the new movies available for streaming was Snow Falling on Cedars. H remembered that she had liked the book and I remembered hearing good things about the book. We clicked watch.
I should have remembered the near universal rule that good books make lousy movies. (I know there are plenty of exceptions to the rule, but the movie usually takes a lot of liberties with the book.) The movie was terrible. The cinematography was lush, but that was about the only redeeming thing the movie had to offer.
The main problems with the movie were lack of focus, over indulgence, and a bad central performance.
The movie tried to take all of the themes and sub plots from the book and give them all equal billing. In a novel, the author has the space to weave multiple plots and themes into a coherent whole. In a movie, the director is constrained by both the medium and time. Movies rely on show to tell the story and some things are very hard to show. Movies, generally, need to stay under 90 minutes before they become too long. To fit into the constraints a director needs to choose the one plot and theme that has primacy and force the rest into the background. In Snow Falling on Cedar the director tried to have it all and wound up with a mess.
A symptom of the director's lack of focus was an over indulgence when it came to screen time. A lot of time was given to montages and other lingering scenes. They were beautifully shot, but I wasn't looking for a visual spectacle. I wanted to see the plot move forward.
The director was not helped by his actors. Ethan Hawk's portrayal of the protagonist was terrible. I never found his emotional dilemma compelling. Should he be a man or a petulant child? I never got the sense that he had what it took to be a man in the first place. The rest of the cast was also flat. I never believed the racial tension that was the reason for the trial.
Given the major problems with the film, the plot hole driving the story is barely noticeable. I cannot believe that nobody thought to check the lighthouse records as a part of the murder investigation or the defense's inquiry. In a fishing community it seems unlikely that people were ignorant of the fact that the lighthouse listened to and kept records of the radio traffic in the area.
So the movie is crap. If you thought the book was good, don't bother. If you heard the book was good and wanted to see the movie instead of reading the book, don't.
I should have remembered the near universal rule that good books make lousy movies. (I know there are plenty of exceptions to the rule, but the movie usually takes a lot of liberties with the book.) The movie was terrible. The cinematography was lush, but that was about the only redeeming thing the movie had to offer.
The main problems with the movie were lack of focus, over indulgence, and a bad central performance.
The movie tried to take all of the themes and sub plots from the book and give them all equal billing. In a novel, the author has the space to weave multiple plots and themes into a coherent whole. In a movie, the director is constrained by both the medium and time. Movies rely on show to tell the story and some things are very hard to show. Movies, generally, need to stay under 90 minutes before they become too long. To fit into the constraints a director needs to choose the one plot and theme that has primacy and force the rest into the background. In Snow Falling on Cedar the director tried to have it all and wound up with a mess.
A symptom of the director's lack of focus was an over indulgence when it came to screen time. A lot of time was given to montages and other lingering scenes. They were beautifully shot, but I wasn't looking for a visual spectacle. I wanted to see the plot move forward.
The director was not helped by his actors. Ethan Hawk's portrayal of the protagonist was terrible. I never found his emotional dilemma compelling. Should he be a man or a petulant child? I never got the sense that he had what it took to be a man in the first place. The rest of the cast was also flat. I never believed the racial tension that was the reason for the trial.
Given the major problems with the film, the plot hole driving the story is barely noticeable. I cannot believe that nobody thought to check the lighthouse records as a part of the murder investigation or the defense's inquiry. In a fishing community it seems unlikely that people were ignorant of the fact that the lighthouse listened to and kept records of the radio traffic in the area.
So the movie is crap. If you thought the book was good, don't bother. If you heard the book was good and wanted to see the movie instead of reading the book, don't.
Apple TV
H got me a new AppleTV v2 for my birthday. I was shocked at it diminutive stature even after having seen them in the store. Its tiny size, however, is only one of its charms.
Set up was a piece of cake. I hooked up the HDMI cables, turned on the TV, and pointed it at our wireless network. From opening the box to streaming You Tube videos took about five minutes.
The interface is what you would expect from Apple. A two year old could use it without trouble. Everything is shiny and smooth. It makes my cable box interface feel like traveling back to the days of arcane magic and chanting. The only downside is having to navigate the on steen keyboard with a remote, but that can be easily fixed....
We rented Time Bandits from iTunes and it was almost too easy. The first time I had to enter my iTunes ID and password and it appeared on the TV. we waited a few seconds and starting watching. After the first rental the box remembers your ID and only asks for your password.
Finding content is easy as well. There are search fields just about everywhere. The remote isn't the best typing tool, but it isn't the worst either. I was able to find Chandler Vader on You Tube without much trouble. Finding radio stations was oddly difficult because there you cannot search in the radio interface. Hopefully they will fix that omission.
Streaming content over our finicky G wireless connection provides astonishingly good results. Time Bandits didn't stutter at all. The radio stations we've listened to didn't skip either. Netflix does occasionally hiccup. During an episode of Firefly I had to pause three times to allow the buffer to fill and resume normal playback.
When you pair the Apple TV with an iOS device it really shines. The Remote app smooths out the trouble of typing with the remote because you an use the iOS keyboard. Air Play is also a great feature. While traveling I rented Donny Darko to watch on the plane ride home, but didn't get around to it. Instead of sitting in my living room staring at my iPad's tiny screen, I sent it to my big TV screen. Playback was smooth and trouble free. I did experience one network hiccup, but our network is a little dodgy at times.
Can the Apple TV replace cable? No. Is it a nice addition to our media system? Yes. Is it worth the price? At $99 it isn't too hard to swallow.
Set up was a piece of cake. I hooked up the HDMI cables, turned on the TV, and pointed it at our wireless network. From opening the box to streaming You Tube videos took about five minutes.
The interface is what you would expect from Apple. A two year old could use it without trouble. Everything is shiny and smooth. It makes my cable box interface feel like traveling back to the days of arcane magic and chanting. The only downside is having to navigate the on steen keyboard with a remote, but that can be easily fixed....
We rented Time Bandits from iTunes and it was almost too easy. The first time I had to enter my iTunes ID and password and it appeared on the TV. we waited a few seconds and starting watching. After the first rental the box remembers your ID and only asks for your password.
Finding content is easy as well. There are search fields just about everywhere. The remote isn't the best typing tool, but it isn't the worst either. I was able to find Chandler Vader on You Tube without much trouble. Finding radio stations was oddly difficult because there you cannot search in the radio interface. Hopefully they will fix that omission.
Streaming content over our finicky G wireless connection provides astonishingly good results. Time Bandits didn't stutter at all. The radio stations we've listened to didn't skip either. Netflix does occasionally hiccup. During an episode of Firefly I had to pause three times to allow the buffer to fill and resume normal playback.
When you pair the Apple TV with an iOS device it really shines. The Remote app smooths out the trouble of typing with the remote because you an use the iOS keyboard. Air Play is also a great feature. While traveling I rented Donny Darko to watch on the plane ride home, but didn't get around to it. Instead of sitting in my living room staring at my iPad's tiny screen, I sent it to my big TV screen. Playback was smooth and trouble free. I did experience one network hiccup, but our network is a little dodgy at times.
Can the Apple TV replace cable? No. Is it a nice addition to our media system? Yes. Is it worth the price? At $99 it isn't too hard to swallow.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
This is the craziest movie I've seen in a long time. Yet it some how worked amazingly well. The animation popped and made the effects seem huge - even on my iPads screen. I wish I had seen it in IMAX! Mr. T's performance was perfect. I cannot think of a bad thing to say about this movie.
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