Staff Picks: Movies
Staff-recommended viewing from the KPL catalog.
Being the parent of two small children I am forced to watch a fair share of bad movies aimed at younger viewers. Many are just blatant attempts to cash in on a family's need for entertainment or to sell toys. One of the most pleasant surprises this year was DreamWorks Monsters vs.. Aliens. The movies is about a bride turned mutant giant "Ginormica" (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) who is enlisted by the government along with other "monsters" to fend off an alien invasion. These monsters have been kept in hiding in secret by the government for years but are promised to be freed if they can defeat the aliens. Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, and Will Arnett voice the other monsters and Rainn Wilson is the leader of the invasion, Gallaxhar. The film has enough inside jokes to keep adults laughing and enough action to keep the kids enthralled.
Movie
Monsters vs. Aliens
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Not quite cinema verite of old, but with the obligatory shakiness of a hand-held camera, Rachel Getting Married feels as though the film’s director (Jonathan Demme of Silence of the Lambs, Beloved, Philadelphia ) was provided unfiltered access to capture the intimate conversations, tragedies and joys of a dysfunctional family brought together to celebrate Rachel’s big day. What makes this film so visceral in its immediacy and kinetic energy is in large part due to how the film was shot and the way in which many of the scenes feel as though they were improvised or at the very least, minimally scripted and choreographed to allow the actors freedom to embody the naturalism of the moment. Though I would have preferred another actress as the rehab-prone enfant terrible (sorry Anne Hathaway fans), Rachel Getting Married’s strength as a film comes from the strong ensemble cast who did well to transform a rather stale plotline into a well-mannered and passable drama.
Movie
Rachel Getting Married
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Tender, sweet, hilariously self-deprecating, and semi-disturbing are all legitimate ways one might describe Woody Allen’s romantic comedy masterpiece--Manhattan. In addition to being all of those things, Allen’s 1979 film about two couples (one involving a teenager), a snarky yet “But I'm from Philadelphia” paramour (the brilliant Diane Keaton), an ex-wife turned memoirist (Meryl Streep), and the ways in which love is found, lost, found again...maybe...and probably altogether ill advised locates Allen at his film-making peak. Beautifully shot in black and white, this charming little tour de force probably does more for New York City tourism than anything else. Allen parodies and pokes fun at everyone, including himself in this great movie that compliments his other celluloid classic, Annie Hall. If you’ve never indulged in the Woody Allen brand of humor, start with these two films.
Movie
Manhattan
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My kid’s crazy about dogs, so the last three movies we went to see in the theater all centered on canines. While Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Hotel for Dogs were live-action films, they were not nearly as lively (or recommended) as the animated Bolt, a film kids and adults should all enjoy.
Bolt (voiced by John Travolta) plays a dog with superpowers on a popular TV show, which also features his young owner as his co-star. From the time he was a pup, he’s been led to believe he really is a superhero, a ruse his owner and handlers pull off by keeping him in the tightly controlled environs of the studio set, all for the sake of keeping his on-screen performance as believable as possible – he never knows his on-screen adventures are pure fiction. (If this plot sounds familiar, perhaps you’ve seen The Truman Show, which is much more existential and angsty than Bolt.)
Through a series of mishaps, our hero ends up on his own thousands of miles from his owner and known life, and must find his way back, with the help of a streetwise cat (with abandonment issues akin to Jessie’s in Toy Story 2) and superfan hamster (who also stars in the cartoon short exclusive to the Bolt DVD, which includes a hilarious send-up of Hannah Montana, Bolt voice actress Miley Cyrus’s alter-ego). He also has to come to terms with the truth about his superhero abilities, sometimes discovering the truth midway through some harrowing situations on his cross-country journey.
Bolt’s a lot of fun, and possesses more charm and depth than most films aimed at the family audience. If you’re a dog lover, you may want to see all those films I'd mentioned having seen on the big screen – but Bolt’s the only one that’s not a real dog.
Movie
Bolt
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For fans of the unjustly ignored TV series Freaks and Geeks, the recent big-screen success of its creators, Apatow Productions, is sweet justice. Pineapple Express is the Apatow team’s most recent film success, and may be its most outrageously over-the-top yet – and anyone who’s seen Superbad knows that’s saying a lot.
Following the adventures of a process server (Freaks alumnus Seth Rogen) and his pot dealer (fellow Freaks alumnus James Franco) as they flee from a drug lord after witnessing his murder of an international rival, the film is not for the faint of heart. Not only are the gags as dirty-minded as ever, but the high level of violence (never before seen in Apatow ventures) is on par with that found in Quentin Tarantino films.
Between the foul language, the bloody action, the rampant drug use, and a premise that’s ridiculous beyond belief, I couldn’t possibly recommend this to sane-minded viewers who withstood the vulgarities of The 40-Year-Old Virgin or Knocked Up enough to appreciate their sweeter aspects. As for the rest of you – don’t tell anyone you found out about this movie from me.
Movie
Pineapple Express
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Like every other parent of a small child, I don’t get out to the movies as often as I’d like. When I do go, more often than not, it’s to a kids’ film with my child in tow. Fortunately, we live in an era when animated feature films can be as engaging for adults as they are for kids (and, of course, some aren't meant for kids). Sure, there are still kids’ movies I wouldn’t want any of my friends and family to endure (I’m looking at you, Beverly Hills Chihuahua), but I have no qualms recommending any of this year’s contenders for the Best Animated Feature Oscar to anyone, no matter what age.
Which one is my favorite? Pixar’s WALL-E amazed me with its incredible sci-fi visuals (set in outer space and on trashed terra firma), amusing social commentary on consumerism run amok (I now quote the line “I didn’t know we had a pool” whenever I realize I’ve been far too engaged in front of a computer screen), and daring narrative choices (for one thing, no significant dialogue is spoken in the film's first third).
Still, for sheer popcorn pleasure, Kung Fu Panda wins. I’ve never cared for Dreamworks' animated features as much as Pixar’s, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The story of a klutzy panda bear who dreams of being a kung fu master (and gets his wish) was funny and action-packed – anyone who loves martial arts films should find all kinds of sly references to classics of the genre, as well as combat sequences that are beautifully staged and bound to leave one breathless.
I also enjoyed Disney’s Bolt (due out on DVD in March) more than I expected - I'd read about animator Chris Sanders' original concept for the movie (working title: American Dog), and was worried about getting a watered-down version. The finished film, about a brainwashed canine actor who tries to use superpowers he doesn't have while on a cross-country adventure, may not have matched Sanders' original vision, but it never lacked for thrills or heart (and being my - and my child's - first 3D movie theater experience made it even more of a thrill).
Some animation fans will be disappointed that more adult fare didn't make this year's nominations, but no matter which film wins, each deserves the nod. Did I mention kids should like them, too?
Movie
Kung Fu Panda
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The award-winning NBC Comedy 30 Rock has again raked in the awards at the Golden Globe Awards including Best Comedy Series, Best Actor (Alec Baldwin) and Best Actress (Tina Fey). If you have not yet watched the best show not on a cable-network, check out Seasons 1 and 2. The show is a fictional account of what happens behind the scenes at a Saturday Night Live type show. The ensemble cast deserves an award for producing one of the only bright spots on network televison.
Movie
30 Rock, Season 1
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Over the past 20 years, British movie and theater director Mike Leigh has produced a critically praised body of work that artfully investigates the gritty despair and grim lives of his working class characters. His most well-known and admired films include Naked, Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy, and Secrets and Lies.
His newest movie Happy-Go-Lucky has garnered the positive attention of film critics for the performance of the film’s leading actress, Sally Hawkins. Playing this weekend at WMU’s Little Theater, moviegoers may just find out what the secret to happiness is and whether or not Leigh has lightened up from his usually, serious and bleak depictions of British life.
Movie
Vera Drake
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Many of Jane Austen’s great novels have been made into movies. Becoming Jane was a recent one. I was a little surprised at how similar the story line was to that of Pride and Prejudice, but Becoming Jane had a sad ending.Becoming Jane, starring Anne Hathaway, was supposed to be the story of Jane Austen’s life. The one thing that was similar in Jane Austen’s real life to that of Kiera Knightly’s character (Lizzy) in Pride and Prejudice was that her family was very poor. Although, gifted and encouraged by her family, Jane Austen, like many woman of her time period was unable to publish her novels in her name.
Some of Jane Austen’s movies in our collection are Emma, Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park. I have to admit, though, that my all time favorite is Kiera Knightly in Pride and Prejudice.
Pride and Prejudice
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Movie
In my way of thinking you cannot go wrong with a Jackie Chan movie. The plot of "The Forbidden Kingdom" is that the Monkey King’s staff needs to be returned to him. The God of War tricked him and turned him into stone. The prophecy speaks of a seeker that will return the staff one day. Well in this movie the seeker is a boy in a city in the United States and he gets transported through time and space to China. There he meets Jackie Chan a “drunken” immortal and Jet Li a monk. They teach him Kung Fu and many battles ensue. A lot of humor is interjected throughout typical of Jackie Chan movies. It was an enjoyable romp, I do not recall hearing a single curse word and the fighting is not the show the blood and gore type. It’s more the dodge, jump leap, look out type which has you laughing more than gritting your teeth. I highly recommend watching this movie.
Movie
The Forbidden Kingdom
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