Hi guys! Uh oh! 2 more days till we say sayonara forever to 2009. Isn't it crazy? I mean I was just 10 years old yesterday thinking the 2000's were like eons away, now we are a decade in? I am not complaining sha, at least I am alive. Sooo, as I am channeling my inner bum and doing nothing, I have been watching movies like they have been going out of style so I thought I'd share my thoughts with you and you can decide if you'll see it or not.
PRINCESS AND THE FROG: For those that have missed the hand drawn cartoon days a la Aladdin, Little Mermaid (remember those days in naija of just memorizing and singing disney tunes, or was that just me?). Anyways, it seems Disney got nostalgic too and went back to their originals and wait for it...they made the character black, lol. The movie was cute and was a typical disney affair, full of song and dance especially since it was set in Louisiana with lots of jazz music. I especially loved Ray the Firefly and his Evangeline. Nothing really spectacular or different but if you are looking to smile and reminisce, you'll enjoy it. - Go see it.
BROKEN EMBRACES: Yet another collaboration between Penelope Cruz and Pedro Aldomavar. This was a spanish movie that reminded me of their last collabo, "Volver". The movie itself is a laid back affair with a lot of its messages delivered through strong but subtle scenes where it's up to the audience to decide what they feel. It's basically about a writer who was seeking revenge for something done to him many years ago after having an affair with his boss's wife. - DVD it.
FANTASTIC MR FOX: With the voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep, I actually didn't expect to like this movie as I did. The story of a cunning fox who made a living out of stealing chickens and stopped when his wife got pregnant. He picks it up again and gets into more wahala than anticipated. You can almost see George Clooney on screen instead of the character he is voicing, because the fox is that charming. All in all, director Wes Anderson(Royal Tenenbaums, Where the Wild Things Are) hit a home run with this. - Go see it.
YOUNG VICTORIA : The story of the beginnings of the youngest queen to take the throne and her marriage to Prince Albert. Again, some might say I am hard to please but it was an okay movie and didn't suck. I know personally that I don't care for victorian movies because they are usually the same format. Some surly or liberated girl for her time, some man she is interested in, some country or feuding parties, some talk of marriage etc. This wasn't any different but I'll give it props that it was well done. It's what I'd call a textbook movie, everything was done by the book, nothing exciting. Produced by Sarah Ferguson (former duchess of York) and Martin Scorcese, it's worth watching even if it's on dvd. - Dvd it.
THE MESSENGER: Indie movie starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster. It's the story of two military men whose jobs it is to inform people that their loved ones have been killed in action and one of the men falls in like with one of the women he delivered the news to. Some would see this as depressing, which it is but I liked this movie, it made me remember the people out there in Iraq and all the people it affects. Go see it.
AVATAR: Everybody and their mama has been raving about this movie, as I heard it described it was a "visual orgasm". A friend of mine was so sure I would hate the movie but I liked it. 15 years James Cameron has been slaving over this movie, he created a special camera for this, he hired linguists to make up the language used for the Navi people, he had so much pressure to prove he was still the "King of the World", did he come out victorious? Yes he did. If there was anything to pick on about the movie, it would be the plot but you have to remember the kind of movie and can't expect anything great. If he had delivered an intelligent plot he would have alienated the "see it 3 times" audience because sad as it is, our nation is dumbing down and we always have to present things at the simplest of levels. I think Cameron spent so much time on the graphics and visual image that we are supposed to forgive the simple plot and just keep it rolling, but the plot wasn't terrible so we can keep it moving. At a certain point, I had a "Am I watching Pocahontas?" moment but I got over that. Everyone said to watch it in 3d but I think I would still have enjoyed it even if it wasn't 3d. I do have to say that this year was the year of naija sha, see as the marine commander had to mention that he fought in Nigeria, lol. Go see it.
UP IN THE AIR - This was a really, good movie. Especially if you are like me. In your twenties and just asking yourself over and over again, "What's the point?". The movie shows the different view points of life between George Clooney's older character who enjoys living life solo and spends his life flying here and there firing people and Anna Kendrick's twenty something year old character who has a life plan and is quite uptight. Clooney meets his match when he meets Vera Farmiga's character, the movie unfolds and we get to know George and Anna's characters and their backgrounds and we also see how they begin to realize that maybe they don't have it all figured out. I just kept wondering what was going through George Clooney's mind since in real life he is anti-marriage and anti-kids. Anyway, Jason Reitman(the director) is on a roll after Thank you for Smoking and Juno, he has made it a triple with Up in the Air. - Definitely go see it.
IT'S COMPLICATED: Meryl Streep can do no wrong even if she tried and neither can the new Alec Baldwin. Yet this movie wasn't it for me. It had it's funny moments and its quirky moments but something about it was scattered and I can't lay my finger on it.Maybe, it was that I would think that people in their 60's or whatever age they were would have their life more together than these characters did. I don't know but it's Nancy Meyer (something's gotta give)'s latest effort in old people romance about a woman whose husband leaves her for a woman half his age and then begins an affair with his ex wife while she starts a romance with her architect?(did that make sense?). go dvd it.
I am wishing you wonderful people of blogsville a happy happy new year. I wish you all that you wish yourself with the blessings of our Lord to complete it, have a wonderful day and be safe and in the meantime enjoy the following mashup, it's the top 25 songs of 2009 in 5 minutes. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
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