I have to say right up front that I loved this movie. I’ll layout some rationale, some caveats, and such in this review, but all in all, it is simply a damn, fine flick. I do not believe it is going to change movies forever, but I think it has set a new standard for technical achievement in films that others will be striving to catch or break. It is a fun, entertaining adventure that happens to look STUNNING and that is exactly what I expect from James Cameron.

Note there will be some minor plot discussion below, so please stop reading if you want to see it unspoiled…

There has been much said regarding this flick basically being “Dances with Wolves” with Aliens and that is fairly well true. It follows a similar formula, but that isn’t a bad thing at all. In simplest terms, the Earth has been bled dry and humanity has taken to the stars to find resources that it needs. One such location is the moon Pandora which has an indiginous population known as the Na’vi. Jake (a human marine) is in the avatar program which allows a human to transfer conciousness into a hybrid human/Na’vi hybrid. Their sole goal is to convince/force the Na’vi to work with humanity/get out of the way of humanity so that a rare mineral can be mined. Things obviously grow from there and I’m leaving out a lot, but that is the beginning in a nutshell.

It is important to remember that the main draw of the movie is that it is a tour de force from a technological perspective. It is beautiful and engaging and awe-inspiring. Thankfully, Cameron knew to not overload the story/plot. There is just enough to feel compelling, but this is no weighty psychological drama. The story exists as part of the whole, but it is only a part. Make no mistake, you’re on a roller coaster for the entire 2hr 42min runtime. The story was interesting and kept my attention, but it has issues. If you are strongly opposed to films with strongly ecological/environmental messages/viewpoints, to the Gaia concept, or to presentations of military/corporate interests as antagonists or as evil, then likely you will be either bored or completely put off by these overarching concepts. I didn’t find this overwhelming, but obviously some will. I felt the acting was reasonably competent and the dialog felt appropriate to me, but I have read reviews that trashed both. None of it is mind blowing, but I personally thought that Sam Worthington did a terrific job as Jake Sully. Once again, everything is a supporting actor to the star of the show, the amazing visuals. At the end of the day, everything seemed to exist to create a fun, but extremely beautiful and expensive ride. I found myself enjoying the story, but truly enthralled with the visuals. YOU NEED TO SEE THIS IN 3D! The 3D is not overwhelming and the subtle added depth really does make the film even more compelling. This is like when CG effects were first used in a way that was more en-grained and less obtrusive. For the first time, I saw a movie in 3D and thought damn…that was totally worth the added cost and inconvenience of cheap glasses.

All in all, I’m thrilled to have seen it and I’m going to see it again in 2D because I want to see it again and I’d like to contrast the 2D vs. 3D experience. This is an extremely fun movie and a joy to watch. I think Cameron set a new standard for CG effects and I was in awe at what he accomplished…

Like many people, I grew up loving the book, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. I have heard for years that a movie was in development based on the book, but I assumed it would never come to pass. However, Spike Jonze came along and actually made the film. Once I saw the teaser and trailer, I was completely hooked and I’ve been waiting for it to come out since.

Well, now it is here and I finally got the chance to see it. First off, I definitely enjoyed it, but it wasn’t perfect by any means. Max is played wonderfully by Max Records who embodies the emotion and confusion of an inquisitive, sensitive young boy. There aren’t many other human characters of note in the film, but Catherine Keener is very believable as Max’s mother. From there, the majority of the actors are voicing the wild things, specifically James Gandolfini, Forest Whitaker and Chris Cooper among others. The voice work is great and only surpassed by the amazing full body costumes Jonze chose to use. The choice was perfect and made the flick more engaging as opposed to if everything had been done in CG. Max’s wolf suit is perfect and looks exactly like it should based on the pictures from the book.

The film feels much like raw emotion to me. Starting with the wild excitement and frustration of young boys and then eventually taking a dark turn as Max meets the wild things. This is the point at which I question whether this film would be suitable for young children. The wild things are well, wild. They are somewhat violent at times, brooding, and frightening. None of this is bad, but it means that the mood would be too dark at times for my son who is three. In the book, while the monsters can seem scary, it is nothing compared to how they would likely come across to the young in the movie. This isn’t bad, but it’s just the way it is. I really am not sure the film was aimed at children nor am I sure it should have been. This movie feels like it is designed for those of us who loved the book and have a few years into life. The translation of a book with only 10 sentences to the screen left way for quite a bit of embellishment, which I think was handled quite well. Nothing feels out of place, but you get little more than feeling with the movie. No grand arching story, no long narrative, just lots of beauty and the raw emotion I spoke of. This worked for me, but just be aware of what you’re going to be seeing.

In short, I loved it and will reevaluate when I think Ben is ready to see it. However, I’m sure I will pick up the eventual Blu-ray and watch it many more times over the years…

Movie poster found via Internet Movie Poster Awards.

For another review, I found a great family focused review at the GeekDad blog titled ‘10 Things Parents Should Know About Where The Wild Things Are‘.

This first video has him explaining the new toys (which I HOPE to pick up as they look amazing) for the Toy Story series. They have a new Toy Story Collection that are supposed to be exact replicas of what the toys would really be. I’ve seen the Woody, Buzz, and Aliens and all three are VERY nicely detailed, but pricey. Still, I want to get them You could think from the video that he was just a shill trying to push the sale of the toys, but from everything I’ve seen, he’s being downright honest. He does seem to truly love the toys and hope people get the same enjoyment out of them.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video…

[youtube width="480" height="295"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yy9eFBm_ug[/youtube]

I went to see ‘The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard‘ on Monday and while not a good movie by the conventional definition, it does have some truly hilarious interactions. It didn’t hurt at all that I’m quite fond of many of the actors; Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, David Koechner, Ed Helms, Rob Riggle, and Will Ferrell. The humor that was there is enough that I definitely want to see it again, if not own it.

** VERY MINOR SPOILERS **

The basic premise is that Piven and his team (Rhames, Koechner, & Kathryn Hahn) are hired guns who are brought in to sell cars and whip sales teams into shape. James Brolin calls them in to help his dealership. The sales staff is filled with some truly odd, but funny characters and Piven brings in some additional help of his own. The craziness that ensues is a thin plot with some truly bad dialog, but some great one-liners and exchanges. I don’t want to discuss any of the wonderful supporting cast as it could give away some of the fun, but there is fun to be had. Keep an eye out for Piven’s business card. I need something like that for myself, just not about cars

Oh, if you don’t mind seeing the funniest scene in the movie early, check out my previous post.

Oh and just remember…”when they shoot you, poop comes out the butt”.

[youtube width="480" height="295"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXF2nH4Z9sc[/youtube]

As I tweeted earlier, I had to gather my thoughts after seeing District 9. The movie is intense. It’s violent and bloody/gory, but it is ABSOLUTELY fascinating. This is hard-edged sci-fi that is quite unlike anything I have seen before. I went into this film having seen the trailer, but it really doesn’t tell you much at all. Now, this isn’t for the squeamish as it is bloody, very bloody. Also, don’t expect to see any actors you’re familiar with as the movie has to my eye all fresh talent. This isn’t an issue at all as the characters all come to life quite well and you’re quickly engrossed in the story and their lives.

The action occurs entirely in Johannesburg, South Africa which is also where the filming was done. The setting was perfect as I think the use of a non-US city contributed to the appealing look of the film. The videography is a combination of clean footage along with grainy handicam or TV type footage, but it isn’t overly used or distracting. I’ll also say that is modeled after a documentary style film, but that works for it here. If you pay attention, the interviews foreshadow some of what is to come, but the journey and the final realization make the whole ~2 hours completely worthwhile…

I really don’t want to say much else as I think this is a flick that should be watched with little to no knowledge at all. I went back and watched the trailer again and it now seems very revealing to me having seen the film.

So, in short, get out there and go see this flick if the blood & gore won’t bother you and you’d like to see a VERY interesting sci-fi film.

Between Piven, Ving Rhames, Ed Helms, Rob Riggle, & David Koechner this will be a must see for Heather & I…even if it isn’t stellar…

[youtube width="425" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHIRCjr1DM8[/youtube]

However, I at least got to watch the FX/Teaser Trailer for Tron Legacy in glorious HD quicktime. This below is an embedded version from someone, but I don’t know if it will last as Disney seems to not want their trailers to be embeddable. I can imagine how much they must hate the free publicity

[youtube width="480" height="295"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1IpPpB3iWI[/youtube]

Also check Ain’t It Cool News for some amazing production art from the movie.

The official, but un-embeddable version can be found here. High-def versions can be found here.

Seriously, if they bring the fun and special effects from Iron Man with a decent story (trusting in Favreau that this is intact), how can you go wrong with this cast? I guess I shouldn’t tempt fate like that, but I’m really looking forward to this flick…

John Gruber over at Daring Fireball posted a link to a great interview at Art of the Title regarding the WALL-E end credits shots by Jim Capobianco and Alexander Woo. As the interview explains, the animation tells the end of the story and offers a lot of interesting details on the film and production. Art of the Title even offers a downloaded zip package containing multiple snapshots from the credits. Definitely worth the time to check out if you’re into animation, Pixar, or WALL-E specifically…