Winnie the Pooh (2011)

Eyeore has lost his tail, and Winnie the Pooh and his friends hold a contest to get him a new one. 

    This was an adorable movie. I grew up with Pooh and seeing in this theaters surrounded by little kids made me proud to be part of something that binds the young at heart forever. It was very old-school Disney, with the beautiful animation and narrator work, but at the same time it had a snappier sense of humor which updated the film. All of my favorite characters were present in their finest form and I fell in love with them all over again. The pure innocence of this animation is lost in so many other movies for children. Winnie the Pooh is timeless. He doesn't need to change to appeal to a new generation.

Super 8 (2011)

After witnessing a mysterious train crash, a group of friends in the summer of 1979 begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small town, and begin to investigate into the creepy phenomenon. 

     This movie was undeniably Spielberg-influenced. The kids riding on the bikes was so E.T., even the young actor playing the lead reminded me of Elliot. That gave the film this beautiful retro feel, and the setting of the late '70's didn't hurt either. 

     The linear detective work of the kids in trying to figure out what is going on kept the plot under control, but the climax of the film was a little too Close Encounters in its hugeness, though there was some excellent symbolism. 

   The major strength of the film is that it uses the epic alien storyline to relate simple lessons on growing up, grief and family. It isn't about the special effects or gore, its heart is relationships and humanness. This fact makes the movie stand out in the pack of science fiction.

Bridesmaids (2011)

Picked as her best friend's maid of honor, lovelorn and broke Annie looks to bluff her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals with an oddball group of bridesmaids. 

 

   And so my beloved Kristen Wiig has her own movie. And what a movie. It has been described as "The Hangover" for girls and I totally believe it. It's crass and quirky and painful and random. Kristen plays up the personality she's known for, hapless, insecure, anxiety-ridden, and makes the audience want so badly for things to go well for her, because we see a bit of ourselves in her. I was so glad to see Maya Rudolph again, I've missed her since she left SNL and she did not disappoint either. The rest of the cast of women is equally brilliant as they work to steal scene after scene from each other. This is a really fun movie, but not for the faint of heart. 

The Tree of Life (2011)

The story centers around a family with three boys in the 1950s. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence. 

   I...don't even know where to begin with this movie. It has some big names in it. Promising other leads. Excellent child actors. An interesting story premise of family and gender dynamics, grief, and innocence. For me, it was bizarre. 

   Things seemed normal enough until the film stepped back from the family dealing with the loss of a 19-year old son to what appeared to be the creation of the cosmos. It was beautiful, sure, with huge nebula clouds billowing to the sound of an opera chorus and we sat in awe for a few moments. Time passed. We were still staring at nebula. More time passed. The earth was formed. We got twitchy. The ocean teemed with tiny plant life. Then the dinosaurs came. I looked at the person sitting next to me and he said, almost desperately, "What the hell?" 

   That was the phrase in my mind for most of the movie. There were brilliant scenes centered around the main story with fights in the family from the 1950's as the boys grew older, Brad Pitt did an excellent job, but then there would be breaking from the story and creepy whispering like, "Father. Mother. You wrestle inside me." 

   It was so long. The ending dragged on and on. Bizarre symbols like a beach populated by strangers with candles while Sean Penn and his younger counterpart walked with their parents. A door to nowhere. It was like Malick had so many ideas and instead of writing down ideas for a bunch of movies, he decided to shove it all into one. And apparently one of those movies was the history of the world.

Cars (2006)

A hot-shot race-car named Lightning McQueen gets waylaid in Radiator Springs, where he finds the true meaning of friendship and family. 

    Yes, it did take me about four years to see this movie, completing the list of then-released Pixar movies I had seen. I really had no interest in this movie. It was about cars. Cars are not interesting. And I don't like Owen Wilson.

   That being said, I saw it because a friend had it and insisted I see it. Trusting him as a fellow Pixar devotee, I watched it on my computer during the school year. I was pleasantly surprised. The story was not super insane or anything, it did what Pixar does best: simple, well-done storytelling. And yes, the car puns did abound, but the themes and emotions behind the cars were strong enough to withstand the gloss of somewhat childish humor. 

   This is not my favorite Pixar movie, but it was sweet and sincere.

Megamind (2010)

After super-villain Megamind (Ferrell) kills his good-guy nemesis, Metro Man (Pitt), he becomes bored since there is no one left to fight. He creates a new foe, Titan (Hill), who, instead of using his powers for good, sets out to destroy the world, positioning Megamind to save the day for the first time in his life.

   So I have seen this movie several times now and quote random excerpts from it to anyone who will understand me, and not always then. For a non-Pixar animation movie, this is a home run. Much of it is due to a very funny script and excellent deliveries by Ferrell and Fey, who have both worked on Saturday Night Live. Their sense of timing sets them apart from a lot of comedians and makes the characters sparkle with personality. 

     The story begins as a classic bad vs. good, but twists it around when it focuses on the villain. This automatically makes the movie interesting. Initially I thought the premise too similar to Despicable Me which came out around the same time, but they are very different and I personally found Megamind to be a fuller, better executed film. If given the choice, go for Megamind instead.

   

The King's Speech (2010)

Winner of 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor, this historical drama features Colin Firth as George XI, the new King during WWII who has a serious stutter.

  I saw this teaser and KNEW it was going for the big awards. For that reason, I put off seeing it until after the Oscars. It was magnificent. The subtlety was absolutely breath-taking. Helena Bonham Carter, who didn't win her Best Supporting Actress nomination, was the essence of control. It's strange to think she's married to the king of camp in real life (Tim Burton), but she still holds her own. Colin Firth definitely deserved his award, his voice, his mannerisms, they were perfect. Geoffrey Rush was also excellent, the chemistry between him and Colin was very natural and well-formed. I also really liked the whole look of the movie, with the costumes and grayish lighting of it all. Very British. It's a rather strange topic for a movie, so specific, but even with its historical context, it's still very relevant in today's world. War is always with us and we all need someone to look to during times of trial. This movie showed how one man, even with a speaking problem, can rise to meet the challenge.

Monsters (2010)

Six years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion, a photo journalist agrees to escort his boss' daughter through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border. 

     I have made it one of my (less important) life goals to watch as many alien movies as possible. I saw this advertised a while ago, discovered it would not be in theaters near me, and so watched it on Netflix. It's a strange movie, very low-budget, with incredibly natural dialogue (the actors were not given scripts, but general outlines and character design) and almost no actual aliens. However, their presence is undeniable, as every crackle of a twig or explosions in the night sky signal a possible attack. 

      It reminded me of a less big "District 9," in that it's about aliens, but it's really about something else. It has a lot about relationships and Mexican-American politics woven into it, which makes it a better alien movie than just all creatures and no humanity. If aliens really did come to earth, it would indeed be a highly-political situation, with lots of people involved.

    Most people would find this boring, but it is very well-done for its genre.

Red (2010)

When his peaceful life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive and uncover his assailants. 

   This was a very entertaining movie. It had a great ensemble cast, cool comic-book visuals, and an interesting enough story to keep you invested. One of the downsides to a comic book-turned-movie that is not about vampires or superheroes is that sometimes seems real, but then all of a sudden isn't, and you are tempted to say, "That's so unrealistic." It can be confusing at times. But that hardly makes it a bad movie. John Malkovich steals every scene, everything he says is hilarious. Helen Mirren is also one my favorites. She proves that you can have a career that consists of playing almost solely assassins and Shakespearean heroines. Not super memorable, but fun for a Friday night at home with pizza and ice cream.

The Eagle (2011)

In Roman-ruled Britain, a young Roman soldier endeavors to honor his father's memory by finding his lost legion's golden emblem. 

    I begin by saying how biased I am. "The Eagle of the Ninth" was one of the books of my childhood. When I saw this was coming out as a movie and starred G.I. Joe Tatum as Marcus, I nearly wept. I knew it would be bad. The depth of the character of Marcus would require a good actor, and Tatum, though strong of face and ripped of abs, is not good. So I went to see it in hopes of getting a laugh or two. I got about one laugh.

     It started out somewhat promising, there were Roman soldiers with American accents, yes, but the costumes were accurate. There were fighting scenes. After that, it was so dang boring. The fight scenes were spread way too far out and most of the shots consisted of Tatum and Bell riding across the British countryside scowling at one another. The weirdest thing was the fact that the book had a love interest, but this movie had literally three young women in it, who Tatum smiles at from a distance. That's it. Usually, it's reversed, and the movie adds unnecessary sex and nudity, but nooo. I couldn't even amuse myself by seeing Tatum take a wild British girl back to Rome with him. 

     What drove me nuts was the identity crisis the movie had. Is it pro-Rome and pro-empire, or pro-freedom and pro-native cultures? The idea of changing the movie title to "The Eagle" immediently put the image of America as Rome in my head, which is not an ideal comparison. No one really wants to be compared to Rome unless they want to end up like Rome did, imploding from the outside out. That comparison seemed to stretch on as almost all of the soldiers had American accents and spoke in a very military tone, and at the end (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER), Tatum's "epic line" of: "Defend the eagle," was seeped in the idea of defending the flag/defending the nation. At the same time, the movie attempted to be sympathetic to native cultures. Oh, look, not all of them are bad, they help this guy, their enemy, and they're just defending themselves against rape and torture and death from the invading forces, poor them. To add another layer of confusion, oh look, this tribe is pure evil, the destruction of their culture is justified, even though Rome invaded them first and provoked all of this, hmm mmm. WHAT! MAKE UP YOUR MIND, MOVIE! I think the "message" was that there aren't good and bad, it isn't black and white, but the message I recieved was: hate everyone. Romans, Britains, they're all horrible. But the Romans are a little better. 

    Horrible. I feel strongly.

    

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (2009)

The story of the lives of the Sherman brothers, the team behind some of Disney's mot recognizable songs like "It's A Small World" and the soundtracks of "Mary Poppins" and "The Jungle Book." 

    I saw this right after "Waking Sleeping Beauty." I now know more about the inside world of Disney than I ever thought I would. It's a fascinating story about genius and grief, art and conflict. The Sherman brothers' sons are responsible for this film, and they treat the material with both the respect and affection it deserves. It's painful to watch as the brothers' relationship is fractured perhaps beyond repair and their faces betray the deep, unresolved emotions that lie beneath the surface. The conflict that drove them apart is what created the music we love. It makes me question if the creation of art is truly worth the pain and heartbreak that people have to go through. I don't know what the answer is.

Séraphine (2008)

A film based on the life of painter Seraphine de Senlis who was discovered by a famous German art collector in 1912. 

    A very French film, complete with long, uncut shots, complete silence, and gorgeous scenery. It is a haunting film about a haunting woman, whose genius was both interrupted and ignited by mental illness. It's a film for those used to how foreign films move (very slowly), but ideal for anyone who appreciates art and its painful mystery. My favorite scene is the very last one. I won't spoil it, you'll just have to see the whole movie to truly appreciate it in all its simple, heartbreaking beauty. 

Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009)

The story of how the Disney animation company went from outcast and forgotten to producing hugely successful animated movies in a period of ten years with moves like "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid."

   The Disney company fascinates me. It has influenced entire generations through their movies and changed the movie business forever. It was astounding to hear how the artists at the animation company went through a period of time where they were sure they were all going to lose their jobs and the animation division would be shut down. It was innovation that saved them. With people like Michael Eisner and Frank Wells, the old saying "What would Walt do" changed and things were done differently. My dad, who is an innovation educator and consultant was practically jumping up and down and scribbling notes. It was a very direct, focused movie, but not boring. Drawings by Disney artists were strewn through out to illustrate people and events and there were lots of videos. For anyone who loves Disney, this is the movie to watch.