ParaNorman

Cute Undead Things!

The undead in ParaNorman weren't so cute, but the movie itself was cute in the extreme sense of the word. I went to see it for the stop motion animation, and stayed for the everything.

This is a personable tale about a little boy who feels like a freak. Norman can see and talk to those who have passed on. Expired. Gone to the taco shop in the sky. Basically, Norman can interact with the dead, and people treat him differently because they don't want to acknowledge his weird gift. It makes everyone uncomfortable around him, including his immediate family. So poor Norman is alone, misunderstood, and only feels like a normal kid when conversing with the dearly departed. But not everyone is ready to steer clear of Norman, and a surprise visit from his estranged uncle will show Norman a higher purpose for his unusual ability.

I've always loved stop motion animation, dating back, of course, to The Nightmare Before Christmas. The level of dedication it takes to create a feature length film using this method is mind boggling to me, and I respect the heck out of it. I can't imagine how annoying it could get just trying to film a character blinking. Blinking, for Pete's sake! So I had to see ParaNorman, especially after I saw the teaser trailer that featured Donovan's Season of the Witch. That's my jam!

And I was not disappointed! This is one of the best stop motion animation movies I've ever seen. I know, it sounds like blasphemy, and you want to smack me upside the head for disrespecting Nightmare, but hear me out. The characters in this movie are so life like in their personalities and actions that it's hard to hear the voice actor behind them. You think of the character's voice as belonging to them, not to some guy in a studio. I feel like every character was flushed out, and given an identity, down to their individual mannerisms and asymmetrical features.

Norman has a fascination with zombies, and he has so much zombie merchandise that it made me giggle.  Because he can see dead people, and can relate to them because they don't judge him for being different, he can hide from the world in the fiction of zombies. But he learns that he can accept friendship and let go of his barrier. Daw. The cuteness, once again, was touching. Go see it already, and cry tears of understanding and joy like I did! You're going to be surprised at who your favorite characters are by the end of the film.

Moonrise Kingdom

Kingdom of awkward romance.

It's a special class of people who enjoy movies by Wes Anderson. Many would say that his movies are boring and depressing. Many more people, including those who love his movies, call them just plain weird. I admit when I first saw The Life Aquatic and The Royal Tenenbaums, I wasn't sure what to think, with all the understated dialogue and odd interweaving relationships. But if there's one thing I appreciate in a movie, its characters that have both good and bad qualities. Wes Anderson is pretty good at that. 

Moonrise Kingdom isn't like other Wes Anderson movies you may or may not have seen. Its a sweet love story about two misunderstood tweens and the lonely adults who try to control them. The boy is an orphan who is a master at wilderness preparedness, due to many years spent in a group of "boy scouts" called something that doesn't infringe on any copyrights. His love interest is a twelve year old girl that wears lots of blue eye shadow and has anger management issues. The two run away together for a romantic camping trip to find a coastal alcove where no one will bother them, and their budding love can bloom.

No matter what their intentions are or how well they handle being on their own, children running away like that understandably puts the community on edge. Everyone panics and turns on each other, ready to point the finger of blame. I really enjoyed watching each individual's reaction, and how they applied the story of forbidden young love to their own lives. As we've come to expect from Wes Anderson, this is a film about lonely people, coming slowly to terms with their past as well as with their family. The difference with Moonrise Kingdom is that the young lovers add an element of innocence. Although the two are lonely and depressed, they are untainted by life, and it brings this movie to a level of lightheartedness that I didn't expect.   

Well... Its lighthearted for Wes Anderson. I thought it was cute!

You may be disinclined to see this movie because of that "cuteness", and the child actors being such a main staple of the plot. Let's face it, kids aren't usually great actors. Look how long it took Daniel Radcliffe to learn how to play Harry Potter! At least 8 films! The truth is, the tweens in Moonrise Kingdom aren't exactly on par with folks like, I don't know, say Daniel Day-Lewis? However, they are quite good, and they display a rawness that would be difficult for their legendary co-stars like Edward Norton and Tilda Swinton to pull off. I imagine it would be near impossible to evict emotions like that from tweens and even harder to capture it all on camera. Watching the two speak intimately with each other made me uncomfortable like I was interrupting something private. For that, I commend Wes.

I'm not sure if this is still in theaters or not, I watched it some weeks ago. But if it is still in theaters, then this movie is well worth the time spent in an air conditioned theater, on semi-reclining padded chairs. In this summer heat, you can't ask for much more than that, but this movie provides it anyway. 

The Dark Knight Rises

Wham! I just got socked in the face by a colorful exclamation, used to make Adam West look like he's beating someone up.

Adam West is off doing his own things, and as he is no longer filling the black boots of Batman, Christian Bale has taken them up (we can ignore most of the actors who have played Batman in between the two, although I have a soft spot for Michael Keaton's portrayal) and done them honor. These last three movies have gotten better and better, bringing us to this magical crescendo that we call The Dark Knight Rises.

I know what you're thinking, because I thought the same. No way can this movie out-awesome The Dark Knight. You'd be wrong! I was blown away, and if you have any love for Batman, you must watch The Dark Knight Rises.

Usually at this point I would try to give a quick run down of the movie, giving only a taste of what you might see on the silver screen. The truth is, I don't want to give away anything from this film. I want you to see it and be surprised each step of the way. Don't worry about the trailers, don't look up the actors, just buy a ticket and let yourself be taken away by it all.

What I can talk about is Anne Hathaway. She had quite an act to follow, what with Michelle Pfeiffer having been the embodiment of Catwoman two decades ago. I read in an interview that Anne didn't think of herself as Catwoman, she couldn't replace Michelle Pfeiffer in her own mind. That made me a little uncertain as to how good her performance could be, if she had no confidence in herself. But I saw that she wasn't attempting to be the same Catwoman as Michelle, and I think that's what she meant. Anne was the Catwoman of a modern, realistic world. Her costume was boring and normal, but suited the character.

The truth was I've hated Catwoman for two decades, being extremely jealous of her agility, crazoidness, and overall sex appeal. However, I must say I did appreciate the emotion and vulnerability that Anne Hathaway brought to the character. And I was only slightly jealous of her.

As for Christian Bale, he plays a great Batman and Bruce Wayne. He doesn't only display the duality between the two personas, he has a third side to him: the Bruce Wayne that only Alfred sees down in the Batcave. He isn't wearing a mask there, he's worried about preparing for the next mask he puts on, and if he can pull it off.

Ah! I want to say so much, but I cannot! Go see it!