Planet 51
In trying to start this movie with a quick summary, I find that I have trouble doing so. Not that the plot is convoluted or incomprehensible (Dude must win over girl while helping astronaut get back to ship. There, twelve words.) but that there is a lot of trope surrounding it and trying too hard to be funny that it almost succeeds in distracting from the plot (Kid finds courage saving human to woo girl. Eight words this time.)
About the only thing that was original about this movie was the decision to make the world ‘alien’ and the spaceman human. Unfortunately, the filmmakers took that starting point and boldly went where every comedy kids movie has gone before. Planet 51, while being a nod to Area 51 is also an obscure reference to the fact that socially and culturally, this alien world almost identical to America in the 1950’s (Even down to the fact that for no adequately explained reason, this world has the same English spoken and written language and has a breathable atmosphere identical to Earth). That combined with the astronaut is from our world and our time, allows the film to joke about or drop reference to pretty much every sci-fi film from 50’s schlock cinema to recent classics. Unfortunately, all the jokes either fall flat or were used in the trailer. The characters are also pretty typical, so much so that instead of naming them Neera, Skiff, Grawl and Kipple they might as well have named them Love Interest, Goofy Friend, Grumpy Antagonist, and Grumpy Antagonist’s Sidekick.
I had no complaints about the animation. It was well done, but again, nothing groundbreaking. Probably the most unique character (Yes, even more interesting than the green-skinned aliens) was Rover, the robot sent ahead of the astronaut to take pictures and gather samples, and even he looked highly derivative of WALL-E. All the actors did well voicing their characters, but no one is going to be remembered for this movie. Justin Long (Lem) will still be known as Mac, Dwayne Johnson (Captain Charles Baker) will still be The Rock, and John Cleese (Professor Kipple) will still be known as old and English.
I value the time I spent seeing this movie as a matinee because of the people I saw it with. I don’t think it would have been worth seeing at full price, and I definitely don’t think it’s worth purchasing when it comes out. Pretty but dull. (Boy saves spaceman, gets girl. Ha! Five! New record!)
Where The Wild Things Are
Spike Jonze has made the first emo children’s movie.
If I had limited time to give you a summary review of this movie, that would be it. Whenever a movie is made out of a source that doesn’t seem to have enough material to qualify for a half-hour TV special (do they even make those anymore?) let alone a full movie, there is the risk ruining the movie version by adding to the original. It is to Jonze’s credit that the choices he and co-writer Dave Eggers made are not effects-laden filler, but real strides to flesh out the story.
However, this doesn’t add up to a typical ‘kid’ movie. It’s very obvious that Jonze sees this story as a sad one. His Max is lonely, misunderstood and trying to find a place where he can be accepted. Something that a lot of kids and adults can relate to. It goes a long way in creating sympathy for the character by not just being a brat who got sent to his room for bad behavior. The creatures that he comes across when he runs away are just as sad and lonely as he is, and on the verge of dissolving as a family until Max talks his way into making him their king.
The look of this movie is quite different from any recent kid’s movie by a long shot. The natural color palatte of the wild things’ world are a welcome break from the fully saturated rainbow colors of most kid’s films, but it doesn’t make the landscapes any less awe-inspiring. The dark forests and windy deserts manage to have a very otherwordly feel to them, perfectly matching the creatures. I have to admit a bias here, being a long-time fan of anything involving Jim Henson. His Creature Shop created the full-body puppets that stay very true to Sendak’s original illustrations yet fit into the natural landscapes quite well. These are enhanced by using CG to make the monster’s faces talk and emote. The computer work is subtle and seamless and gives these creatures an added believability.
As imaginative as their outward appearance is, their names and voices are very ordinary. Carol? Alexander? Ira? For me, the names weren’t an issue. These are obviously monsters and giving them names like Treepuncher or King Furball would have been too distracting. The voices follow the same logic, as no one is trying to voice a ‘monster character’ as they are just acting out a character, and this works except for James Gandolfini. I couldn’t help being reminded of Tony Soprano whenever he spoke. Gandolfini is a good actor and does Carol justice in this movie, but it might have been better served to have a less distinctive voice fill this role.
In all, I’m glad I saw this movie in the theater. Don’t know if I’d buy it though. Like the movie, it was a very enjoyable ride, but sooner or later you get over being sad and then you need to get back on the boat and go home.