Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

3/5

Wes Anderson's adaptation of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox is an entertaining way to spend 80 minutes of your life, but it's not especially provocative or particularly mind-blowing. The plot follows a fox (Clooney) and his wife (Streep) as they buy a house in a tree that overlooks three mean farmers' local businesses. Being a wild animal, he steals chickens from Boggis, turkeys from Bunce, and cider from Bean. The farmers try to dig the fox out of his hole, but as their digging becomes more and more widespread, other animals in the area become victims too. With the animals against him and the humans getting ever closer, it seems as if the fox family is out of options. But being a clever beast, the fantastic Mr. Fox concocts a plan to keep their land out of the humans' grasps.

The animation is breathtaking and refreshing. It is beautiful and awe-inspiring. But while the movie holds a lot of visual appeal, the story and dialogue fail to really elevate the movie past its quirky, unique animation style. The humor is dry and definitely not to everyone's tastes. Everything is spoken matter-of-factly--meaning there are no punchlines--that it could easily turn people off of the movie (even though I personally found it hilarious). It definitely feels more like a Roald Dahl adaptation than a movie from Wes Anderson's head, which may make you want to see the movie or may make you want to reconsider. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't really have much of a point. It's a very simplistic tale about animals fighting against humans. What you see is what you get; there is no subtle underlying meaning or great moral underpinning. All in all, the movie is filled with clever moments and aesthetic flair, but the whole package is nothing to get too excited over.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0432283/

The Holiday (2006)

4/5

Nancy Meyers's The Holiday is a remarkably tender and touching movie that covers the entire gamut of human emotion. The plot follows Amanda (Diaz) in Hollywood, CA and Iris (Winslet) in Surrey, England as they switch houses for the holidays after having their hearts broken by their boyfriends. Amanda meets Iris's good-looking brother, Graham (Law), and they begin a physical relationship knowing they won't see each other again once the holidays are over. Iris befriends the elderly scriptwriter Arthur (Wallach) and the young and goofy musician Miles (Black) to help her get past her emotionally draining ex. It seems fairly easy to predict what happens next, but the movie paces the emotions so perfectly that you are completely taken in by the story.

The script is tremendous. From the opening voice-over to the final feel-good shot, the script manages to manipulate your heart to feel happiness and sadness within seconds of each other, much in the same vein as Casablanca. Meyers directs the vibrant script into something more than just filmed words. The editing is amazing, effortlessly integrating the two stories and transitioning the scenes visually. She uses music brilliantly to enhance the emotions without forcing unwanted ones on the viewer. The acting is terrific, making the strong characters that much more vivid. Kate Winslet is as good as always, but here all the other leads turn in extremely powerful, empathic performances that just make your heart fill up. Despite some imperfections, this movie is absolutely wonderful. Even if you don't like chick flicks, all it takes to fall in love with this movie is a desire for a good story. Because this movie delivers that in spades.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457939/

The Family Stone (2005)

3/5

The Family Stone is a bit of an awkward family drama/romantic comedy combination. The plot follows Everett (Mulroney) as he comes back home for Christmas to introduce his new girlfriend Meredith (Parker) to his family and to ask his mother (Keaton) for the family wedding ring so he can propose to her. His youngest sister Amy (McAdams) already hates her for reasons that are unknown to me--and presumably everyone else watching the movie--and plays mean tricks on her so the rest of the family will share in her distaste. Everett's brother Ben (Wilson) feels bad for her and tries comforting her, but she feels so harassed that she invites her sister Julie (Danes) to join her. When Everett picks Julie up from the bus station, he falls head over heels for her. There are a few more family members and plot points that I'll let you discover firsthand if you choose to watch this, but that's the basic framework.

Despite the few comedic moments in the trailer, I didn't find the movie as a whole to be very funny. It also wasn't very uplifting or feel-good. A lot of what happened just seemed outright mean and/or depressing. Throughout the movie I felt like it was all a big inside joke that I didn't get, but in the end all was explained satisfactorily with subtle hints instead of over-the-top verbalizations. And the final shot was terrifically bittersweet. All the technical aspects were competent, but nothing truly impressed me. All in all, see the movie if you liked the trailer or the actors, but I don't think this movie is the one to change your mind about the genre.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356680/

The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

2/5

The Men Who Stare at Goats is a disappointing "comedy" about the US Army's attempt to engineer psychic spies and the adventures of one journalist (Ewan MacGregor) as he tries to cover the story. It was advertised as being based on a true story, but that statement rings false. It's either an inside joke or an outright lie. The plot is so preposterous that it is impossible to suspend your disbelief.

The characters are shallow, unoriginal caricatures of people we've seen a million times before. The acting is only mediocre, even from some of my favorite actors (Kevin Spacey, George Clooney). It's probably not their fault and instead the fault of the terrible writing. The jokes are few and far between. When they do pop up, they fall flat about 25% of the time (and that's a lot for a movie that pauses for expected laughter). Coming out of the movie, I thought it was decent. Sitting down to write this review made me think about it more. And that only made it less and less appealing. Don't waste your time with this movie. Just watch the trailer and pretend the movie is as good as that.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234548/

Precious (2009)

3/5

Lee Daniels's Precious is a movie so devastating that you do not want to suspend your disbelief. It is a movie that you want to ignore, that you want to tell yourself would never happen, could never happen. But I'm sure it does, and far more frequently than we would like to admit. The movie follows Precious (Sidibe), a 16-year-old girl who is nearly illiterate, who is verbally demeaned and physically abused at home by her mother (Mo'Nique), who is pregnant with her second child after being raped by her father, and who escapes it all through her vivid fairytale imagination. The difference between Precious and other girls in her situation is that she still hopes for a better future. And she will ferociously follow that hope no matter where it takes her, as long as it takes her out of where she is now. By a stroke of luck, she gets enrolled at an alternative school called Each One Teach One, where she learns to read and write under the guidance of a kind and loving teacher (Patton). She reveals her home life to a welfare worker (Carey), who calls in the mother for a meeting to discuss the abuse. But as the movie ends, most of her problems are not solved, and some new ones have only just begun.

While it's a powerful story, it is far from perfect. The movie's success, in my eyes, hinged on Precious's mother not being evil, but being human. If the mother comes off as being evil, then the situation doesn't seem real, and the strength that Precious has won't be real. The movie did attempt to humanize the mother, but it didn't feel like they explained her enough. Maybe that frustration, that lack of having everything explained satisfactorily, was exactly the intent. But the fact of the matter is that it left me wanting a deeper understanding of the characters. If I can't empathize with the people in this movie, then what was I supposed to get from it?

I could nitpick about obnoxious audience members or unconventional editing, but my main complaint with this movie is that it didn't make me believe in its world. As a whole, the movie has some assaulting images and heartbreaking moments. And the end leaves you with the bittersweet taste of hope mixed with despair mixed with anger. The movie succeeds in many regards, but unfortunately fails in the most necessary and important aspect. It was so, so close to making me believe, but didn't quite manage it. Maybe it will for you; if it does, Precious has the potential to split you in two.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929632/

The Blind Side (2009)

4/5

The Blind Side is a wonderfully uplifting true story of a young boy from the projects who is taken in by affluent Southerners and eventually succeeds as a professional football player. Sandra Bullock plays the rich Southern belle who sees a boy in need and takes him under her wing and Quinton Aaron plays the youth extracted from a bad situation by good people. This movie has an incredible power to touch your spirit; it pits kindness and generosity against hate and selfishness for the soul of a vulnerable young man. We are witness to people at a crossroads who can take the easy way out of someone's life or the tough way into someone's heart. It is satisfying on just about all the levels you would expect from this kind of sentimental movie.

The technical aspects are about average, better in some areas and worse in others. There is the seemingly obligatory montage at the end that's just oozing and dripping sap without adding any value. And there is the occasional dialogue that hammers in subtleties that would otherwise have remained in the background for the vigilant observer. Still, The Blind Side is an affecting tale, made more powerful by the fact that it actually happened. This is the movie to see if you need to reaffirm you faith in mankind.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0878804/