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Up, a review by Dragonfire

I went to see the new Pixar movie Up today. 

After a long, mostly happy life with his wife Ellie, Carl is trying to deal with being alone and the changes going on around their home.  He decides to finally go to South America like they had planned for years, though he uses an unique mode of transportation.  Russell, a young Wilderness Explorer ends up along for the trip.  Once in South America, their adventure continues as they try to get to a specific spot.  Along the way, they encounter Dug, a talking dog, a goofy bird that Russell names Kevin, and Charles Muntz, an explorer that had been the hero of Carl and Ellie in their childhood.

My Thoughts

I loved this movie.  The plot is a bit different, especially for an animated movie, but it works so well and makes for a wonderful movie.  Time is taken at the beginning to introduce Carl and even show highlights of his relationship with Ellie.  Only glimpses of their life together are shown, but it is enough to know how strong their marriage was.  Those few minutes lay the foundation for the heart and emotion that the movie has.  There are a few sad scenes in the movie that might make some people cry.  The movie is incredibly touching and has more emotion than the live action movies I've seen this year. 

Some of what is going on during the movie is silly, but it works and blends perfectly with the more serious moments.  The balance between silliness and sweet, touching things is just right.  There is a lot of humor in the movie, much of which is provided by Dug and Kevin.  That bird is just so goofy that I can't help but crack up.  The movie didn't resort to gross humor like many other animated movies do.  The plot is interesting and makes for a very enjoyable movie.  The animation is stunningly beautiful.

This is the first Pixar movie to be done in 3D.  It is the first movie that I've seen in 3D..the theater here finally upgraded or whatever to show 3D movies.  I have seen the normal versions of some other movies that were also available in 3D, and with those other movies, I usually could pick out things that were done specifically because of the 3D to make the audience jump.  That wasn't done in Up and Pixar didn't use the 3D as a gimmick.  The 3D just ...enhanced things without distracting from the plot.  I did enjoy the 3D stuff.  Even the trailers before the movie were in 3D.

Overall, this is an excellent movie that deserves to be seen. 

 

I did get a review posted on Epinions if anyone wants to take a look.

Up

(From Up on May 30th, 2009)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a review by Jon

Forgetting Sarah Marshall ***
3 out of 5

Peter (Jason Segel) is dumped by his girlfriend of five years, TV star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) and goes to Hawaii to forget. Unfortunately Sarah is at the same resort with her new boyfriend, a British pop-star (Russell Brand)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is the closest yet that the Apatow run of comedies (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up) have come to the Kevin Smith brand of heartwarming romantic comedy via outrageous gags, and while it's more the quality of Mallrats than Chasing Amy, it's a very well written and faithful script by star Jason Segel. Part of me wishes it was funnier, but maybe that would compromise the characters.

They are all very believable. Each person has their good and bad sides; nobody is perfect and everybody is in for criticism. That's important because they feel real whereas normally in a rom-com, lead characters go on "journeys" while the supporting cast don't change at all and it's vomit inducing. Here they are all well rounded. Segel in particular is nakedly honest (literally so in a couple of unfortunate scenes!) and his Dracula The Musical moments (apparently a genuine project Segel wrote years ago) work as both poignant and possibly the funniest thing in the film. Kristen Bell perhaps has the hardest job, because she's the villain of the piece, so putting across her point of view is an uphill struggle. Far better is her new boyfriend. Russell Brand plays himself really, but is far more than a mere cameo and he is excellent at portraying several layers. If anything, he is the most grounded. I know Brand in real life is Marmite to many people, but even if you detest him, don't let him put you off because not liking his character can reap rewards. Mila Kunis is adorable (oh, the irony of her voicing Meg in Family Guy!), while Jack McBrayer almost steals the show with his attempts to consummate his recent marriage. "God put our mouths on our head's for a reason!"

The middle section is very messy and seems to waste time, but it comes good in the end by continuing to surprise, even when resorting to predictable convention. Even then, I thought they'd written themselves into a corner, but it resolves gracefully. Overall I think Segel has a better ear for dialogue than the other Apatow films have showed, as they occasionally lapse into moments of being too clever for their own good. Still, they are much funnier.

Note: like any Apatow DVD, this is stuffed with extras, but personally I'd avoid them. I ruined Knocked Up for myself by watching the hours of deleted scenes, gag reels, abandoned ad-libbing, etc. The Line-O-Rama feature is a case in point; take one scene and show the 20 or so alternative lines in quick succession. Argh!

(From Jon's Random Reviews on August 30th, 2009)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Samurai 7: The Complete Series (2005/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia FUNimation Entertainment (United States) Length: 600 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English

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Plot:
Set in a futuristic world that has just witnissed the end of a massive war, scores of villages are terrorized by Nobuseri bandits. But the Nobuseri are no normal bandits. They were once Samurai, who during the war integrated their living cells with machines to become dangerous weapons now appearing more machine than man. Absolute power corrupts, and their reign of terror is increasing its hold on the countryside. But one group of villagers has had enough, deciding to hire samurai to protect their village. Kirara is a young priestess who travels to the city seeking out protection. One by one, she encounters brave samurai that the war has left behind. These man of skill and valor are each unique and not without their quirks. But can they come together as one to defend the helpless village?


Samurai Sebun
1.01 The Master
Writer: Akira Kurasawa (Original Material By), Atsuhiro Tomioka (Screenwriter)
Director: Toshifumi Takizawa
Cast

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on July 1st, 2012)