"Waltz with Bashir"

I liked this more then "Slumdog".

Yes, I said it. I liked this movie more then "Slumdog Millionaire".

ALSO: DING DING: Based on a true story..ka ching. Ari Folman (director and writer) documents the Sabra and Shatila massacre he witnessed when he was only 19 years old.

Do not disregard this movie because it is animated. If anything, the cinematography enhances the story. It is a memoir, told in non-linear fashion, only to capture the series of personal narratives about the Israel/Lebanon war of 1982. 

The main theme of this movie is memory, and the how/what/why our brain "chooses" to remember details. Ari plays himself, and he cannot remember the period of his life when he was a soldier, and is searching for the truth. He consults other soldiers and a therapist to discover and separate reality from illusion.  What DO we remember? Do we tell ourselves lies to compensate or cover up certain memories? The way this movie is executes these ideas is not remotely trite or overtly calculated. The portrayal of the mental standing of a post-war soldier is more "raw" then any RECENT movie I have seen within the genre . While this is a "war" movie, it focuses on the psychology behind a group and an individual. In interview format, the characters recall events and hallucinations they had which reveal how one instance can be remembered in numerous ways. 

The opening scene and ending scene both left me shaky. The music paired with the immense symbolism and details opened and ended the movie with a powerful tone. The first scene is a pack of dogs running through the streets, baring their teeth, knocking over chairs, frightening bystanders because they CAN. There is a quick shot of the dogs running over a shadow on the street of a person holding the hand of a child. Coincidence? I think not. The theme of power and the "why" behind it is also carried out through the movie. 

There were some "trippy" parts as well. One scene that really stuck with me was when the soldiers are on the beach after a night of gunfire, and one soldier starts playing his gun like a guitar, and the beach turns into a Venice Beach style surf-and-lounge. The artistic quality of the movie is just unreal! The way the animation moves and the focus of the camera is just truly fascinating and intriguing. I found it interesting that despite being an animated film, the sincerity of the characters and events was intensified. 

Many scenes are repeated, and the audience remains unsure which scenes actually occurred, and which scenes are incorrectly recalled. I personally felt there was an intentional irony to this movie because WHO remembers the Israel Lebanon war? Do we discuss the number of innocent people who were killed? Do we remember what happened? What do we pick and choose to remember? 

AMAZING MOVIE...I would see it again. 

"CORALINE"

I was very pleasantly surprised with this movie. I am definitely a big fan of the "new wave" of animated films intended for adult audiences, ala "Shrek", "The Incredibles", "A Bug's Life", "Cars", "Wall-E," etc etc, and I think this movie absolutely fits in with this new genre.

The main theme from this movie was accepting and creating your own reality, and things aren't always what they seem. Coraline lives in an old boarding house called "The Pink Palace" which her family shares with other quirky tenants. It appears to be run down, and previously abandoned. The landscape is what I imagine a world post nuclear fallout to look like: Gray, desolate, barely any vegetation, and eerily quiet. She is bored and obviously miserable, and her parents are depicted as distant figures who are workaholics. Her mother is the "ruler" of the house, who calls all the shots and can't cook worth a damn. Her father is lifeless and depressed, and neither parent can divert their eyes from a computer screen. Coraline's only friend is a talkative and almost nosy neighbor, who is about her age. He gives her a doll, with buttons as eyes, and says he wanted to give it to her because it looked just like her. Weird? Well, it comes back.


The first half hour of this movie I couldn't get over the way the characters moved, or the "direction" of the movie. Even though it was a cartoon, the camera had the craziest angles. Time was obviously a different dimension, as when a character shook their head, or simply moved, it was slower or even faster then the way WE move. Time was probably the most important variable in the movie, as it was completely warped from scene to scene. This seems like an obvious take off of some Lewis Carroll moves, but was much darker and less random. The introspective soliloquy "What A Piece of Work Of Man" from Hamlet even makes an appearance in the film.

When Coraline discovers the outline of a small door on one of the walls, it "turns out" to be a wormhole into a house exactly like hers, with her same parents and room, but...they AREN'T her real parents, they are her "OTHER" parents, whom she even refers to as "OTHER PARENTS". These other parents have glowing skin, red lips, glossy eyes, and cook and clean and just want Coraline to be happy. They seem to have all the traits that her real parents don't have. There's only one weird thing...her other parents have buttons as eyes...just like the doll her friend gave her. When she goes to sleep, she wakes up in her REAL parents house. She begins to debate which life she prefers, and which set of parents will tend to her wants and needs.

Obviously, things go awry, and Coraline learns this fantasy world isn't quite what it appears. Coraline freaks out when her "other" parents tell her she can stay on one condition: if she sews buttons on her eyes. Creepy and weird. Even a 10 year old girl can figure out that's just messed up. When Coraline rejects this idea, her other mother refuses to let her go. From this point forward, she tries to escape the claws of her "other" mother by outrunning and outsmarting. At this point, the movie becomes pretty trippy...her other mother morphs into a creature that resembles a hybrid between Cruella DeVille and a daddy long legs.

The audience is never explicitly told what actually happens and what doesn't. It's pretty much up to the viewer to decide if Coraline dreamed this, or if she really did discover some mental wormhole only she can pass through. Who knows? But that really isn't the point...this movie will make you think about what reality you create for yourself, as trite as that may sound. Go see it. It's good, and you won't feel embarassed for seeing a cartoon.

SPACEBALLS: THE PRAISE

So we all (hopefully) know Mel Brooks is a genius. Nothing compares to his most glorious production, you know what I'm talking about, SPACEBALLS: THE MOVIE.

EASILY in my top 10 movies of all time. If I was stranded on a desert island or subjected to only 10 movies for the rest of my life, I wouldn't have to second guess myself with this one.

I honestly enjoy this movie more than "Star Wars". There is literally no other movie I know EVERY SINGLE line of. I was never able to express my closet obsession until I came to college. Scott and Dan lived down the hall from me, and we started a ritual of watching the movie and pretty much laughing and repeating lines before they were said. I think any person attempting to watch it with the three of us would just get flat out annoyed and have to leave. Scott pointed out to me that you cannot have a blog about entertainment without mentioning SPACEBALLS.

Rick Moranis is just unreal. Bill Pullman and John Candy are also quite the tag team. To be able to make a quality parody of "Star Wars" without being cheesy is not an easy task. The dialougue, pop culture references and random crap just make it a cult classic. If you haven't seen this movie..get on it. Pizza the Hutt, Lonestar, Barf, Princess Vespa, Yogurt (just plaaaain Yogurt) Dark Helmet...all hilarious takes on George Lucas' creation. Even funny commentary on cinematography.."nice dissolve..."

SO: TOP 10 SPACEBALLS MOMENTS:

10) "PIZZA...YOU'RE DELICIOUS!"

9) "I FOUND THE BLEEPS, THE CREEPS, AND THE SWEEPS!"

8) "JUST WHAT WE NEED..A DRUISH PRINCESS!"

"FUNNY, SHE DOESN'T LOOK DRUISH?"

7) WHEN SCOTTIE BEAMS THE PRESIDENT BACKWARDS..TO THE NEXT ROOM

6) "THEY'VE GONE TO PLAID!"

5) "THESE ARE NOT THEM..YOU'VE CAPTURED THEIR STUNT DOUBLES!"

4) LIQUID SCHWARTZ...MAY THE SCHWARTZ BE WITH YOU

3) THE MONOLOGUE AT THE SPACE CAFE BEFORE THE ALIEN POPS OUT OF THE GUYS STOMACH

2) "WE AIN'T FOUND S**T!"

1) When Dark Helmet enters the room for the first time, and just the glance of his TIE with his outfit..DARK Helmet in general is the number one best thing about the movie

"MILK"

Quite possibly my favorite movie of the year. Obviously I have some bias as Sean Penn is my favorite actor of all time. When the tagline "Based on a true story" is advertised with a movie, I notice I can subconciously be more lenient on plot line, but more critical with character development. Neither failed to impress me.

As cliche as it sounds, Sean Penn truly BECOMES Harvey Milk. I hope we have all moved on from our gasping-and-cringing audience days ala "Brokeback *overrated* Moutain" when we watched a straight person do a gay love scene. This movie makes him appear as an activist and leader before anything else. We see his struggle with balancing his life as a public figure and aggressive aberration, to maintaining a healthy personal and social life. Harvey Milk is a maverick, just like every other politician in history who put their life on the line for a cause. I found it truly refreshing for a leading gay character not to be defined by his on-screen romantic life.

As the man who coined the phrase "Twinkie Defense", Josh Brolin plays the part of elected colleague Dan White. For such a notorious legal case, Josh Brolin delivers with modesty that just reads lame. With a combover that means business and a serious collection of vest and tie combo's, he sure looks the part. Diabolical villian? No. Sanctimonious and repressed weird ass? Yes. With his closed mouth grin and head bows every 20 seconds, his "snap" at the end seems almost awkward. I didn't think Josh had much chemistry on screen with anyone.

The final scene was my favorite. Of course my eyes welled up, and it's no secret he is murdered. I thought the scene was simple and symbolic, and it didn't latch on to any well-loved American "martyrdom" themes. It was humanizing and heart wrenching. The slow motion and camera focus on the San Francisco capitol as Milk falls to his death puts an instant stamp on Milk's legacy. While in some regard, "evil" triumphs at the end of the movie, it is a clear reminder that compassion and soul can be just as prevalent as any other motive in the political arena.