Where the Wild Things Are

Considering I had never read the book as a child, for me the film experience was probably very different. The story itself was a bit thin, but I was expecting that going into the theater. After all, the premise is about a boy escaping into his own world. I think there are messages between the lines, of course. Themes of self-discovery mix with innocence and immature emotion to create a kind of reminiscent, subconscious realization that many of us had as children. You know, that phase when you begin to realize what is right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate. And the movie itself was filmed very beautifully. The monster characters are larger than life, quite possibly some of the best special effects I have ever seen. And I know that the author, Maurice Sendak, helped them along throughout the filming/writing process, so that makes the movie all the more special in my eyes. I always like when an original creator of an adaptation gets involved with the reinvention of the story from book to film. He wanted the film to be honest with children, keeping deep-thought themes like anger, loneliness, and love in the movie without “dumbing it down”. I think they did a wonderful job.

Law Abiding Citizen

Starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx, I would place this film in the Thriller/Action genre that is becoming popular. Overall I really liked it, even though I thought the ending was kind of cheap. But it was fun to see Butler playing a bad guy, even if he was a “empathetic” bad guy, the kind that we, the audience, empathize with and almost cheer him on. Kind of like the anti-hero that is becoming so popular as well, but I don’t think I would necessarily call Butler’s character an anti-hero. More like an anti-villain, if the same rules of anti-hero apply. An anti-hero is a hero with flaws that grate against the traditional heroic qualities, like Batman or Rorschach. So it seems plausible that an anti-villain would be a villain with qualities contradictory to the traditional villain, like a bad guy that drives the conflict but has a sympathetic motive, i.e. avenging the death of his family. Only other example I can currently think of is the Sandman from Spiderman 3.

Anyway. It seemed Butler wasn’t able to completely shed his Scottish accent for this one, not that I mind. And Jamie Foxx was brilliant – he always gives 110%. I’d recommend it for a night at the movies.

Paranormal Activity

Filmed to look like a documentary, Paranormal Activity’s success I believe lies in its suspense. Writer/Director Oren Peli gets lots of kudos from me. He really knows how to write a good story. I’m glad this film has become such a hit because it’s showing Hollywood that gore and jump-out-at-you cheap scares are not what drives a horror movie. Any screenwriter would benefit from looking at Oren’s ideas and interviews on how he studies the genre and writes his screenplays. His biggest influences are the “slow burn” movies, like The Others or The Sixth Sense, when a little is revealed at a time. I’m looking forward to his next piece called Area 51, and we can all expect Hollywood producers to foam at the mouth to make a sequel to this thriller.