Monday, July 26, 2010

Claymation-Who'd of Thought

The Fantastic Mr. Fox (Liked It)--So the Fantastic Mr. Fox is a claymation story based on a Roald Dahl story and directed by Wes Anderson. Now, I don't watch this kind of animation often. I think the last movie was Chicken Run (and that was a long time ago), but I had a good friend recommend this and since I trust his opinion, I decided to give it a try. I really liked this movie. The animation is great. The voices are perfect. George Clooney as Mr. Fox was right on the money and I really liked Meryl Streep as Mrs. Fox. The story is original and funny but kind of dark. It is after all, Roald Dahl. That's his signature and this movie falls right in line with that style. But it's funny, original, smart, sassy, and really well done. The interplay between the characters is very adult but it's humorous enough for kids as well. And there are some funny things thrown in by the director. An example is not having the characters really say the cuss words, but instead, say, "What the cuss!" That was just funny. I loved the plot. Mr. Fox wants to "support" his family by stealing chickens and such from three mean farmers. The way Mr. Fox convinces his family and the other animals in his community to go along is wonderful. My favorite characters and my favorite subplot are Mr. Fox's son and nephew. There's a bit of sibling rivalry going on there and it was fun to watch. I highly recommend this movie. It's good for the whole family and it's short. It's only 1 1/2 hours. It's SO worth the rental. I think you'll laugh.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Nature's Movie Theatre

Yellowstone National Park (Loved It)--So I haven't posted in quite awhile. I've been busy working and then I went on vacation. I'm digressing from my normal format on anything I can watch on a screen to write about Yellowstone National Park. It was amazing. It was nature's movie. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed my visit to the world's first national park. I had asked quite a few people who had previously visited there to tell me about their visits. Everyone, and I'm not exaggerating, everyone I asked loved that place. I am with them. I thought I might like it, it would be pretty, I would get to see a buffalo/bison, it would be fun. NO, it was phenomenal. I got to see a bison within the first 10 minutes in the park, the scenery was beautiful, and Old Faithful was as cool as I'd heard. I loved the geysers and the hot pots. I was floored by the vast array of terrain in that 3400 square mile uncommercialized oasis. And then, I got to see two grizzlies, who were no more than 25 yards away at their closest point, also the point where we got back into the car and drove away. I would recommend this park to anyone and I would go back. I saw people from France, England, heard people from Germany, saw license plates from almost all 50 states and would have seen them from all 50 if I'd looked harder, and plates from several of the Canadian provinces. It was so fun to see nature as true to nature as I will in my life. The wildlife, the baby bald eagle learning to fly, the enormous 6 point bull elk in the middle of the road just chilling out, the trumpeter swan, all of it was so cool. It may sound cliche, but it felt so American to me. That we would take this land and give it to humanity is awesome. A coworker challenged me once to find a government program that actually works, after my visit to Yellowstone, I stick by my choice of the National Park system. I'm telling everyone I know to go visit this park. It is so worth the time. You will not regret it.

I'll be back with a regular movie review soon.