22 Jump Street

Tonight's film.

They had me for 1 rather clear reason with extremely well-defined muscles. They kept me with a story that was equal parts sweet, self-aware, and totally side-splitting. And they won me over completely for the sheer audacity to put in a Benny Hill reference. I am starting the Oscar buzz now.

The House

Tonight's Film.

A strange and lingering movie out of Korea about the destruction of a group of falling down old houses and the spirits that dwell in them. Moody and moving, with just enough laughs to keep the children from totally losing it at the end. Just reminded them about the cat-god who stole people's underwear and floated in a purple easy-chair; they were happy again. They absolutely adored the house spirits. The people, well, they didn't really notice them and found their concerns and squabbles rather boring next to the gentle, bouncy spirits. 

Our imaginary-friend-loving 4-year-old loved it the most. Surprise, surprise. The ending is heart-breaking and makes me want to offer a few rice-cakes to the guardian spirit of our house. God knows that just dealing with the noise level around here must be exhausting to even the most benevolent of house guardians.

Toys in the Attic

Tonight's Film:

An entire country of forgotten toys exists in the attic in this stunningly creative movie out of the Czech Republic. The main trio (a bear, a knight puppet, and a clay man with a bottle cap hat) seek to rescue their friend, a doll, from the Land of Evil, which is ruled by a absolutely terrifyingly head statue of a vaguely Communisty dude in Kim Jong Il sunglasses. He has a personality to match and is surrounded by minions of bugs, rotting vegetables, and an disembodied eye that slithers all over the attic with the help of what looks like a vacuum cleaner tube. This is NOT Toy Story. It was by turns absolutely horrifying and fascinating, and while there was certainly some peeking between the fingers watching, not one child, from the sensitive 6-year-old to the fearless 2-year-old, left the room. They huddled in a pile and were riveted by the seemingly endless creativity of these bold film-makers. The use of garbage bags to create an ocean and pillows to create clouds were the children's favorites.

See it. Just don't blame me if your dreams turn out kinda wild that night.

A Cat in Paris

Tonight's film:

Our 6 year old wants to review this one for you:

"This is a different kind of Paris. Just as good as the one with the singer from last time, but a little scarier. But that's OK, you just watch the movie with 1 eye open. The cat was great and there was a funny dog. And this big scary guy and an even bigger guy who wasn't scary at all. Oh, and the end was happy, so don't worry. I think I like Paris. Maybe I'll get a summer house there."

He kinda was born for summers in Paris. 

The Lunchbox

I actually went to the movies tonight, dear Readers! It was delightful just to be at the movies, especially a glorious theater like the Michigan Theater. But to gild the lily, I saw The Lunchbox.

I spent the entire movie afraid to blink; I didn't want to miss anything. It was transcendent. Perfectly paced, lovingly shot. Director Ritesh Batra (with his first feature length film!) provides an eye that is gentle and patient, lingering on scenes long after the main action has been conveyed. And yet, it still isn't enough for the viewer. He seems to know this and allows sounds to bleed into the next scene, just to help you through the transitions. A fascinating technique not often used; it added a magical quality that fit seamlessly. Irrfan Khan always impresses me with his ability to house every emotion known to man in a single glance and he does not disappoint. He is matched beautifully by Nimrat Kaur, who deserves far more than only 6 film credits to her name. Someone cast this woman in everything; she is stunning in her silence. They both built in intensity over the film, allowing their expressions to grow larger and slightly frantic. Their eyes moved faster, their gestures more nervous. It drew the audience in so deeply that by the end everyone near me was shifting uncontrollably, holding our glee back with our hands and arching forward in an effort to help shove these beautiful souls together. We were all so delighted to be enfolded in this heartbreaking yet hopeful tale. I loved it. GO SEE IT RIGHT NOW!

PS. Don't go hungry or you may be tempted to try to eat the screen.

A Monster in Paris

This was tonight's film:

Set in Paris in the year 1910, this delightful fairy tale/French farce focuses on a singer, a budding film-maker, and a delivery driver as they try to save a 7-foot tall singing flea from the wicked Mayor of Paris. Our middle 4-year-old son would like to review this for you:

1. The songs were amazing. Amazing.
2. Monsters aren't always monsters, so you should ask them if they are monsters before you scream at them.
3. We liked dancing during the movie, so that was good.
4. Fleas can jump really really high.
5. We are gonna show you how high!

That's pretty high....

New Plan/Boomerang!

OK, here's the thing. We have 4 kids. Making time to watch movies in any kind of regular pattern just isn't happening over here. We do think we are going to meet our goal of watching every film nominated for an Oscar. We really do. We think we are probably going to be 86 when we do so, but that is beside the point. Therefore, we are not putting any time-limit here. When we happen to watch an Oscar-nominated film, we'll review it. (Or spoiler it, rather.) But no hard and fast rules on when. Cool? Cool.

However, we still do see a lot of movies. A lot of movies. And while we don't have the energy to write long and lengthy reviews of all of them, maybe that isn't necessary, needed, or even nice. How about just a little shout-out to the film-makers who bring us so much joy? Yes, that we can do. 

Boomerang! Perry Mason's father and Law & Order's grandfather:  a docu-noir ripped from the headlines. It was gloriously tense and shadowy. There's a mob scene about halfway in that's as creepy as it is subtle. Of course, the title makes no sense at all, but that's really a minor point when your film is directed by the ever complex Elia Kazan, features the always wonderful Lee Cobb, an impossibly young (and uncredited) Karl Malden, AND an Arthur Miller cameo. It was lovely.

Random Lee Cobb quote: "Theater is the medium of the actor. Film is the medium of the director. Television is the medium of nobody."

Wonder what he would think of the internet......