Bolt (2008)

(photo courtesy: IMDB)

This is a funny kids movie that I got a little time to watch. I thought it was entertaining throughout that a dog would think he’s an action hero.Some of the dialogue is mixed up and it has a predictable story arc but its an alright adventure animated film. You can tell in some sequences where there are 2D backgrounds as oppose to 3D backgrounds, if you don’t agree watch the scene when the truck pulls into the gas station. Also it felt like I was watching some of the same thematic elements from Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 2, weird.

It was nominated for many awards but lost many of those to the much better and complex WALL•E. However, it is good to see films being produced out of Walt Disney Animation Studios which was slashed for a time before Disney bought Pixar. 2D films can compete with computer animated films as long as they bring the same complexities and good stories that (at least) Pixar films have shown to have.

District 9 (2009)

This film is very interesting and very graphic, rated R for a reason. I thought it was an okay film and it burst onto the summer scene as a low-budget blockbuster and sleeper hit. I found the first two acts very interesting in that the human condition towards the alien refugees. It is obviously built as a parable on apartheid and segregation in Africa and it speaks to that comparison pretty well. I think the story makes a very sharp turn from bleak-pessimistic to optimistic and gauging you to take the alien’s perspective. This happens almost too quickly that the third act takes the predictable action adventure turn.

One thing I did like was a lot of different types of camera angles. Not only using mock documentary, security type and other cameras: there were also cameras planted on places like the character’s guns or camera’s in place of where the other character was standing in the dialogue and I thought that gave it an interesting feel to the acting and the dialogue going on. When someone is pleading with you and the camera takes that angle, it’s an interesting perspective.

I think the third act gets a little blow it up and poor at the end. I’ve heard bad things about how the ending is but how can everyone have almost a good ending is, tough to believe after going through all this unrest and chaos.

So Sandra Bullock is doing okay this year and supposedly did great in the upcoming film The Blind Side, but her acting was of a different side in The Proposal. This was an okay film though I did find it amusing that they faked Alaska in Massachusetts.

Now onto a really good film: Persepolis. A film cast in the shadow of the Iranian Revolution, it is a spectacular and different animated journey through an adventure based on the autobiography of Marjane Satrapi. This is a well deserved foreign animated film.

Okay. This year’s movie crop has been, let’s just say it, very crappy. Among the movies I’ve seen from 2009 I’d say that it’s a tough competition between Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and He’s Just Not That Into You.

Ghosts was a think tank idea. You can just tell someone said in a meeting, “hey let’s combine ‘A Christmas Carol’ with Matthew McConaughey.” Idiots.

He’s Just Not That Into You, probably a good idea for a book. They sold the movie rights and made this. Which of course has the plot line, would you leave your wife for Scarlett Johansson? Because that is the typical character for her.

Anyway, time to review some of the top films of the last year or so:

No Country For Old Men . This is one of the top films of the decade. Javier Bardem wins Best Supporting Actor in 2008 with this performance of a ruthless killer whose actions continue to captivate the audience. I cannot remember a moment when any of the three main characters appear clearly within the same frame. As you continue to watch the film, every scene builds to an intense audience anticipation I’ve never seen before on screen.

WALL·E Best Animated Film, no doubt about it. From the director of Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton), he presents one of the most original and visionary works we will see in a long time. Pixar is the rare studio that has created hit after hit after hit (9 for 9 so far with Up; 10 for 10). One of the themes that is similar in both films is the difference between the concept of survival and living life.

The Dark Knight How could I not include this one? One of my favorite directors takes the helm and creates another epic film. Even if you think you know what’s going to happen, you can’t help but feel bound to your seat to see what happens next. The continuing theme of this film is escalation and the film escalates to a climax that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Plus the late Heath Ledger gives a great performance.

I expected more from this film

Quantum of Solace Marc Forster’s (Stranger Than Fiction, The Kite Runner) take on the rebooted James Bond series disappointed me a little bit. I understood the overlying tone was about vengence, the pace was quick and the story was interesting but I thought that the third act could have been better. One of the things I truly like is the scenic settings and how they intertwine with some action sequences. They have great meaning, how a horse race is set under the first (on foot) chase scene and one of the most memorable scenes is the Opera scene and the shootout that ensues.

These are some I liked. More on Movies too, coming soon of course.