Um…I sure hope there is a huge twist…otherwise this trailer is really just a 2:30 movie…I’m very confused by all of this…?

Genre: Childrens, kinda, comedy, sort of, fantasy, sure, drama, I guess

Tagline: There’s one in all of us

Ebert gave it: 3 stars

Based on the beloved (and award winning) children’s book by Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things enters into the imagination. The plotline stays close to the book – Max has a fight with his mother and escapes to his imaginary land filled with  lots of things to do and things to see. However, there wouldn’t be much of a movie if the script followed the 30-something page, less than 10 sentence book. Instead Spike Jonze picks a few of these pages and dives right in (kind of like that Friends episode where Joey tries to jump in the map to navigate through London). Jonze develops an entire plot line from between pages and lines…a plot that maybe we thought up while we were kids reading the book ourselves. Max encounters a set of monsters who are having trouble living in their own wild society, and is named King. He implements his own rules and day to day activities (though we don’t know how many days he is actually on this island). Through being king, Max becomes aware of his own erratic behavior and unruliness and decides it would be in his best interest to head home.

Many reviews have said this movie is not for kids, I think it depends on what kind of kids you have. If your children aren’t ever exposed to culture and art and life outside of Dora or the Wiggles, then yeah…leave them at home. But if your children are the kind that play for hours in the backyard or read a ton of books and are able to let their imagination run free, then they should be fine. (disclaimer…I’m no child expert). Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers did a great job of keeping this movie imaginative. Sure, there are scary things that happen – the waves in the ocean that Max is sailing over, the monster’s anger, the fact that Max bites (terrifying) – but it is all in his imagination. Kids think of this stuff all the time, they are just inserting a film projector in their heads and letting play out on the big screen. My absolute, favorite thing about Where the Wild Things Are is the writing. You know how kids just say stuff, and it is totally off topic and doesn’t really make sense? There is so much of this in this movie, my sister and I were cracking up the entire time (my dad got pissed, he didn’t get it. He’s an engineer, he doesn’t laugh often…just kidding…). I couldn’t for the life of me remember the book, but the illustrations stuck in my mind – I could recall the book cover exactly and the monsters that are created for the movie appear to have jumped right off the page.

Max Records, who plays Max, was amazing! I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that most of the movie is spent running around the woods and growling – two things every little boy should be good at. But this kid can act, and his interaction with the monsters is touching at times. As for the voices of the monster – every one is spot on. James Gandolfini and Catherine O’Hara were my favorites though. I’m so glad that such great actors came together to bring these Wild Things to life.

My Rating: The cinematography and writing make this movie enjoyable for kids and adults alike. Had the 1963 book not been so popular, this movie would have flopped. I love that this movie is one that can be enjoyed by many generations – and we have Maurice Sendak to thank for such a great masterpiece. Yes, it is an artsy movie, and a bit unusual – but since when does Spike Jonze do normal? Give your kids a break from the boring Disney bullshit that gets thrown at them and let them experience some culture. Plus, the Wiggles are scary.

Genre:  Romance, Comedy, a little bit of everything

Tagline: Every moment…love begins

Ebert gave it: 3 stars

New York, I Love You is part of an ongoing project and the follow-up film to Paris, Je T’aime. Multiple directors get about 8 minutes to tell a story about love in New York.  I believe there are 10 segments in this movie. The nice thing about shorts is that if one story isn’t to your liking, chances are another one will come around that is. This movie hits different neighborhoods and different types of people in New York.

I was a huge fan of Paris Je’Taime (as you can see here), and I’m an even bigger fan of the city of New York…however New York, I Love you fell a bit short for me. I thought this film would send me into a bout of depression, making me miss everything about this city, but it didn’t leave me feeling much. There were two shorts I really enjoyed (Cloris Leachman rocks my world) but other than that I was left feeling indifferent. One of my biggest problems with this installment was the fact that so many of the characters showed up in other shorts…I guess that’s kind of how New York is…and Disney wants us to believe that it is, indeed, a small world after all…but seriously, let’s get rid of the hokiness. I wish it would have been a bit more subtle, it would have been a bit more New York had the characters just passed through a scene.

This one time resident of New York wasn’t impressed, and I seem to think others wouldn’t be either. There is a magic that the city has, it usually has the ability to captivate and entrance and the movie did neither. With Je’Taime I was enchanted, I was pulled in – I cried and laughed and loved and all that crap…On a positive note I totally walked through the set of the Ethan Hawke  short on my way to a very hip, very happening, very dark bar on the lower east side. Didn’t realize it was for this movie…but still very cool indeed. I didn’t get captured by the camera, if I had maybe I would like this movie more.

My rating: I’ll admit, I wasn’t drinking vodka, I was sipping on some Chardonnay…but it didn’t help me enjoy the movie. New York, I Love You, I love you..but let’s just be friends, there isn’t room for both you and the city in my heart.

I mentioned a few days ago that I was excited for the up and coming movie season because this is when the real movies come out and play. Well, you may be wondering what I’m excited to see exactly (or you’re thinking, hmm…how did I get to this blog…?) Here is a list, linked to their trailers, of the movies I’m most excited to see. All in one post.

The Men Who Stared at Goats – Clooney could have a great start to the Oscar season with this quirky film, followed by a less lighthearted, but still witty  Up in the Air

I wasn’t excited for Precious until I saw the trailer this weekend. I’m not a huge fan of Oprah (I know, strike me dead) or Tyler Perry (or the fact that he inserts his name into almost every title of the films he makes). This movie actually looks…decent. I’ll admit, I’m only going to see it because it has already gotten Oscar buzz…but that doesn’t mean I won’t like it.

Because I’m a fan of documentaries and used to be a ballerina before a knee injury ended my career (or the fact that I enjoy ice cream far too much and can’t do a double pirouette en pointe) I am excited to see La Danse. This looks like a real life documentation of The Company – a nice movie about a dance company. I really do enjoy dipping my toes into someone else’s life for a mere 2 hours.

An Education looks to be a beautiful, cinematic masterpiece. Plus, there’s some new blood in the acting pool and those sharks named Oscar may come for a bite of their own.

As a fan of everything Scorcese and DiCaprio (though, not always together…) Shutter Island looks interesting to say the least. However, I can totally see this film falling way short…sometimes too many twists isn’t a good thing. But, if anyone can pull it off Tarantino can…but this isn’t his film so we’ll just have to see what happens.

I’ve already mentioned The Messengers, but I am so excited for this movie. With the relevant, army theme and stellar cast we have a hit on our hands.

After Chicago was adapted flawlessly and awarded accordingly I’m not sure how Rob Marshall could fall short with Nine. If I had to pick one movie to see before the end of the year, if I only had $10 to spend at the cinema, this would be the movie I would go see. Hands. Down. Daniel Day Lewis, musical, say no more.

Finally, no movie season is complete without a football movie, The Blind Side will move anyone into watching a sports flick. Sandra Bullock is stepping out of her normal shoes and trying something new on for size. Plus, I recently found out that this story isn’t an uplifting plot from the past, Michael Oher is a year younger than I am and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2009 NFL draft. See, good things still happen in the modern day!

Got something you are dying to see? Let me know…maybe I’ll add it to my list.

Happy Viewing!

Get excited people, we are entering my favorite season of the year…and it has absolutely nothing to do with turkeys, santas, presents or family (though I like them just fine)-we are entering Oscar season! Finally the good movies are going to start hitting theatres! And I’ll have something to actually write about…no more fluff!! It looks like Sundance was a success so let’s hope some of these movies get a slot in the Academy Awards. However, I’m not a fan of this new 8 or 10 or whatever Best Picture nominations…what is this, no movie gets left behind?? “l” to the ame.

This trailer is amazing in my eyes. The music, the gritty footage, the scene selection-everything. I swear, if I saw this up on the big screen I would have been in tears…and I’ve only seen a 1:30ish of a bunch of scenes spliced together. The Messenger won many honors at the Independent film festivals. I’ve been crushin hard on Ben Foster (the main character, opposite Woody Harrelson) since he was the star on the hit Disney tv show, Flash Forward. But when he played a bad guy in 3:10 to Yuma, I fell hard. Foster has evolved into this amazing actor who isn’t afraid to take risks. He is one of my favs. Check out the trailer here Oh and the girl, Samantha Morton has been nominated for 2 Oscars in the past and yet I don’t recognize her – I’ll have to move some things around on my Netflix queue and do some research.

Genre: drama, satire, war film (?)

Tagline: Once upon a time in Nazi occupied France

Ebert gave it: 4 stars

Taratino is back at it again, and like his earlier masterpieces, this one entertains. Set in a Nazi occupied France (yeah, I know…see above?), Inglorious Basterds tells the story of World War II the way it could have gone down had a Nazi fell in love with a Jewish girl on the run, and a Lt. from Nashville went huntin’ for Nazis. After a Nazi war hero turn movie star (his story was turned into a film you see), he falls in love with a theatre owner. The theatre owner happens to be hiding from said Nazi’s boss after a little mishap on a farm. Meanwhile Lt. Aldo Raine is scalping all these Nazi’s hoping to get to 100. One film premier brings them all together, plus a few more characters – including Hitler – at the cinema. Everyone has one thought on the brain, kill…someone. Each has an intended target, however no Taratino character is flawless, nimble, or predictable, leading to a surprising end to World War II.

I hate Brad Pitt. Scratch that I hate the Brad Pitt that follows Angie and their little tots through the pages of the tabloids. I hate the Brad Pitt that makes movies like Curious Case of Benjamin Button in search of an Oscar. However, I love when he steps outside of himself and doesn’t come off egotistical or self-righteous (i.e. Burn After Reading). It seems these quirky directors bring out the best in actors. Pitt is hilarious, and it’s more than just the goofy, Southern accent. Even greater is Christopher Waltz, who plays the Nazi colonel (which, by the way, how do you get ‘kurnel’ out of that?). This guy has monologues that go on for days, yet you never get bored. Now, Ebert says Inglorious Basterds is a film, like many of Taratino’s others, that needs to be viewed more than once to properly enjoy it. Basterds is like 3 hours long, and I’m not sure that my attention span could sit through it again. Not saying I wouldn’t love to do it, because I loved this movie…I’m just not sure I have all that extra time (what with being unemployed and all).

Quentin Taratino has his way with his characters. He is able to weave plotlines and characters together in ways many directors and screenwriters dream of. He is genius. I looked up his filmography on imdb.com – this guy has written numerous scripts that all have this incredibly twisted and complicated path from beginning to end. I can’t imagine how this man lives his life…he must have post its everywhere, reminding him of what character does what and who. Can you imagine the room he wrote Pulp Fiction in? All of the splicing and cutting, reordering the plot so that at the end it all makes sense but you still sit there and say, “huh?” Someone, please, film this guy writing his next masterpiece. Or give me his number so we can date and I can just see it first hand.

From the quirky, typical Taratino, opening sequence to the historically inaccurate, though highly desired ending Inglorious Basterds is brilliant. See it once; see it twice if you want. I loved it, and so did my dad (the guy who fell asleep during Jack Nicholson’s opening monologue in The Departed – he didn’t sleep a wink during this flick). And my mom, who hates gore, only turned away a few times during the expected blood that a Taratino film sheds. I didn’t need any vodka to get through this one, but for the sake of the blog and my system we give it one flask. and by we I mean me.

Here is a documentary that hits so close to home for me. I am in advertising, well, I am almost in advertising…I guess you’re considered ‘in’ when you get your first real job…or even more ‘in’ when you get laid off. Erik Proulx was a laid off copywriter. He picked himself up and started a blog about getting the pink slip (www.pleasefeedtheanimals.com) I jumped on the blogwagon early in the game and have seen it evolve and now he has turned his energy towards this movie. If any lesson can be learned I think it is this: We do a job, we are not only our job. Do what you love, whether it be full time, part time, or over time – just do it (ha). I’m a copywriter by trade, but I really love writing – it’s why I’m on Twitter, it’s why I blog, why I write shitty little short stories with no ending at night when I can’t sleep.

I can’t wait for this movie to come out and I can only hope it is released somewhere nearby so I can see it on the big screen. The recession has initially brought out a lot of anger and negativity, but when you push past that it brings out feelings of hope and passion and creativity.

I have been looking at this banner on apple.com for some time now and finally clicked through to see the special sneak peak at the trailer. I had no idea what to expect, especially when I read it was by the director of Titanic. But the opening shot of the trailer is so James Cameron it wasn’t even funny! This movie looks like it is going to be so cool – lots of special effects, a totally unique plot – it’s like part Blade Runner, part something else! I’m excited to see more. But, what’s with this avatar dude looking like the guy from Pan’s Labyrinth? Something about the eyes…check it

Michael Cera, Please. Be my friend. I know this kid really only plays the awkward cutie, but alongside another awkward cutie we may have a hit. What’s with all of these filmmakers capturing finding love? What’s with me wanting to see all of these movies about love? I guess if the timing is right, I’ll fall for it. Just like in real life. snap. Watch it