coraline

the talent behind this movie alone made me excited for it: its directed by the same guy who directed 'nightmare before christmas' and its based on the book by neil gaiman, a favorite author of mine.
the story is a simple one: a curious girl finds a door in her new house that leads to another strange new world. its a play on the old 'alice in wonderland' premise. the magic here is in the animation, its done in claymation, the same process used in 'nightmare before christmas' and 'wallace and gromit'. the style is made even more amazing through the use of the new 3D technology that has been used for the past couple years.
the film itself though is amazing! as coraline goes through the door into the other world she finds her family there, but slightly skewed. she meets up with some of her neighbors which leads to some amazing sights. all of this she finds wonderful and loves being there in that different world. slowly she starts to realize things arent as good as she first thought as everything begins to change and get pretty creepy. i've got to admit- this movie is really scary! i don't mean frightening or gory, it is rated PG after all, but there are some moments of real dread where you just know 'this isn't going to turn out well!' my heart was racing! i was originally thinking maybe this could be a movie i take my little nephew to, but i realized quickly that there is no way i would take him to see this- he would have nightmares for months! heck, i had nightmares after seeing it! it's intense at parts, but the magic and wonder of the film is so enchanting that i was blown away! i eagerly await seeing it again.

outlander

i didn't know much about this movie going in, which might have to do with the fact that there was absolutely no advertising for it... i had read a very short description of it online a month or two ago, it simply said 'an alien versus viking movie'. that was all i really needed- i'm in!!! when i saw that is was playing at rivertown, i knew i couldn't miss it! it was showing in only 19 theaters around the country, so this was a rare opportunity.
and wouldn't you know it? its actually pretty good! the story is about a space craft that crashes on earth in the tenth century. there was a terrible scary monster on board, and the surviving pilot of the ship works with the locals (who just happen to be vikings) to kill it. the story is very simple, and a slight twist on the beowulf story, but its done well. the first half of the movie is a bit slow and falls into some basic movie cliches: outsider who no one trusts, a beautiful girl willing to give him a chance, a king who is in poor health... the list goes on. but its the action scenes and the really cool monster that keeps this one from being lame. the creature is very cool and most of the special effects with him are done quite well. it didn't live up to the movie i imagined after reading that first description, but it was sure a good time anyway!

yes man

this movie really makes me wish jim carrey would do a third 'ace ventura' movie! he does a good job of playing the normal every-man, but he is at his best when he gets those brief moments of manic craziness- so why not just do another 'ace ventura' where its all manic craziness?!?
this story follows a guy who never does anything, just keeps to himself, and always turns down any offers to do anything social. but, after attending a seminaar where he is confronted and convinced to say 'yes' to everything, he does. this leads to all kinds of kooky high-jinks. there are some funny moments in the film, but it just made me wish for more. i dont understand why jim carrey forces himself to do these calm and boring characters, he's got so much more than that to offer! because he stays subdued, many of the laughs are stolen from him by rhys darby who plays his boss norman. its pretty bad when a relative unknown (other than 'flight of the concords') can steal away a movie from someone as big as jim carrey! also, i've got to say, the relationship between 29 year old zooey daschanel and 47 year old jim carrey is not even remotely believable...

event horizon

i saw this one quite some years ago in the theater with rex and a few other friends, i remember thinking it was pretty cool, but i didn't remember much else. i happened to see that they released a two disc special edition selling for pretty cheap (six bucks), so i figured it would be worth revisiting.
its meant to be a sci-fi horror movie, basically a haunted house story set in space. the set up is that a spaceship that had been lost for years shows up again, so a crew is sent to go check it out and try to figure out why it had disappeared. they arrive and chaos ensues. as far as horror movies go, it does a good job of amping up the tension and having some bloody good deaths. there are a few twists and turns along the way which are done very well. everyone in it does a good job, especially sam neil, who is very convincing as the conflicted scientist who designed the ship in the first place. i remembered it being a lot more shocking and gruesome, but i think ive just become more desensitized to it... it was certainly worth revisiting. the special effects hold up quite well considering it came out more than a decade ago!

curious case of benjamin button

this film is based on a short story by f. scott fitzgerald, and is about a man who lives his life aging backwards. when first born, he has all the ailments of an old man, bad eyes, arthritis, bald head, etc., as he grows up he gets healthier and eventually becomes a child. the premise is very interesting, and the execution is astonishing! the special effects used to make brad pitt age from young to old is really amazing, its obvious that it is him during almost every age. the most incredible job is done when he is in his twenties- he looks exactly like he used to back when he first started making movies! its really quite jarring how they were able to pull that off.
the film itself is very much in the vein of 'forrest gump', in that it follows the life of a guy as he goes through different parts of his life and interacts with different historical events through the years. the driving force behind his journey is, of course, love. he falls in love with a girl when he is an old man. as he grows younger, she grows older, eventually they are able to reconnect when they are about the same age. the film is a hearbreaking look at age, time, and death. the theme throughout is death and its impact and value on life.
i was moved through out the film by its acceptance of death as the culmination of a life well lived. every interaction between benjamin and anyone else is shaded by the looming realization that he is so different from them and he cant allow himself to get too close for too long. the story is also beautifully told through the direction of david fincher's artistic style. all of which adds up to be a film worthy of being called the best film of the year.