A creative film with a very unusual storyline, it is an animated production done by Pixar studios distributed by Disney. If you like the previous films Pixar has done such as WALL-E (2008) or Toy Story (1995) then you may enjoy this one as well. I thought visually it was well animated, but what stood out was the story which was pretty original about a house floating merely by balloons, an old man, a boy, a strange bird, and a dog. This was directed by both Pete Docter and Bob Peterson. Both of them collaborated with Thomas McCarthy for the story and Bob Peterson and Pete Docter did the screenplay.
There were a number of Hollywood talents bringing their voices to these characters. Edward (Ed) Asner is Carl Fredricksen, Christopher Plummer is Charles Muntz, Delroy Lindo is Beta, John Ratzenberger is Construction Foreman Tom, Jordan Nagai is Russell, Bob Peterson is Dug / Alpha, Jerome Ranft is Gamma, David Kaye is the Newsreel Announcer, Elie Docter is the Young Ellie, Jeremy Leary is the Young Carl, Mickie McGowan is Police Officer Edith, Danny Mann is Construction Worker Steve, Donald Fullilove is Nurse George, Jess Harnell is Nurse AJ, Josh Cooley is Omega, Pete Docter is Campmaster Strauch and Kevin.
I don’t think small children will fully understand the story for this film, they may find moments of it funny and amusing. But, it seemed to be tailored towards adults more. There are a few moments of sadness in the story which makes you feel for the character, but it was pretty straightforward from the start to the end. There are a couple surprises along the way which I think you will find interesting. Pixar did well bringing elements to each of the characters such as the gestures they used during many of the scenes and some of the interaction between the characters were mostly expressions without any dialogue whatsoever.
I think this was still worth looking at, you can appreciate the time and effort again spent putting this film together. It is something to share with your family together and it keeps your interest for the most part.
Many know of this famous childhood story originally written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in 1865 titled “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. The screenplay adaptation was written by Linda Woolverton, and it was based upon the Lewis Carroll books.
This is director Tim Burton’s take on the famous story. I think you will find it very Burton-like in many respects. It certainly has his style of film-making all over it. I don’t think some people will find it to be that appealing; however it will strike a note with fans of the novel and story. It certainly holds pretty true to how the book was written with some tweaks here and there.
Again, Tim Burton reunites with his longtime friends giving them roles in this particular story. This pairs Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter who both starred together in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) as well as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). There are several other notable castings such as Crispin Glover as Stayne – Knave of Hearts, he is probably best known from other roles such as the character George McFly in Back to the Future (1985) as well as the sequels. Also he starred as Willard in the 2003 film Willard. Anne Hathaway appears in this as the White Queen sister to the Red Queen.
Finally, I will give my opinion of Alice who is the leading character after all; she was played by Australian actress Mia Wasikowska who was voted in Variety magazines top 10 actors to watch in 2008. I think you will find her performance in this quite acceptable, and she certainly did well enough to pull off the part as we see the antics of 19 year old Alice. Tim Burton captures the essence of Alice in some way and brings her to a CGI (Computer-generated imagery) filled screen of different creatures, backgrounds and other eye candy moments. Some of these includes the performance of Tweedledee and brother Tweedledum both played by Matt Lucas who brought the animated facial expressions to the parts.
British actor Stephen Fry appears as a cat in this known as Cheshire Cat. You might also recognize the voice of Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit. And the distinctive voice of the Blue Caterpillar is played by none other than Alan Rickman. Unforgettable Barbara Windsor is the voice of the Dormouse, Paul Whitehouse is the March Hare, Timothy Spall is Bayard, Marton Csokas is Charles Kingsleigh, and Tim Pigott-Smith is Lord Ascot.
I will go ahead and recommend catching this one while it’s still playing in the theatre, it has an element of fantasy and you are along for the ride with Alice as she adventures into the rabbit hole. You kind of know what to expect going into the theater to see this, and it was entertaining enough.
This indie film was a cult hit and was popular with the younger crowd of movie goers. I think most people will find it to be quite charming in its own way. The directorial influence was done by Jason Reitman who has done other films such as Thank You for Smoking (2005). He seemed to really capture the character and story of Juno, which is about a 16 year old Minnesota girl who unexpectedly became pregnant, and wants to give her child to a responsible couple. She faces issues with her peers and family…while dealing with a relationship at the same time. This film was written by Diablo Cody based upon some of her own high school experiences. She has also written the film Jennifer’s Body (2009) starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried.
Canadian actress Ellen Page stars in this as Juno MacGuff and is a talented force to be reckoned with, she is unique and this film seems to showcase her talents on screen. Michael Cera also stars in this as Paulie Bleeker who is a good friend to Juno. Jennifer Garner plays Vanessa Loring and Jason Bateman is Mark Loring. They are the couple seeking adoption for a child. Allison Janney plays Brenda ‘Bren’ MacGuff the mother of Juno. Her father Mac MacGuff is played by J.K. Simmons. Olivia Thirlby plays Leah, Eileen Pedde is Gerta Rauss, Rainn Wilson is Rollo, Daniel Clark is Steve Rendazo, Darla Fay is Bleeker’s Mom, Valerie Tian is Su-Chin Qah, Aman Johal is Vijay, Emily Perkins appears as the Punk Receptionist, and Kaaren de Zilva is the Ultrasound Technician.
This film was very well casted, and each of the actors seemed to fit each of the roles, it is not often you will find such a collective pool of talents thrown together. In this, you will see them breathe life into each of their characters. The film doesn’t pretend to be anything else; it has its own kind of thing going on. I think this movie is about acceptance, forgiveness and seems to march to its own path. The film had a meager $7 million dollar budget and has since grossed $231,411,584 million worldwide. That’s pretty good for an independent film such as this. I hope you enjoy Juno as much as we did. It was a real treat to see. I highly recommend seeing this one as well.
“A comedy about growing up… and the bumps along the way”
Ok, this one is a bit on the cheesy side of things, but the film has a heart. It was an 80’s film so; we all remember how things were back then. I think however this was an interesting story, with a basic premise of a boy able to fly hence the title. It seemed to gather a cult like audience over time, and many people thought it was enjoyable including me. I have enjoyed the work of director/writer Nick Castle in some of his other films including The Last Starfighter (1984). He seems to be able to capture the human spirit in some way in all of his films and brings the characters to life. In this film he doesn’t fall short.
The film makes use of some narration during some sequences as you watch the story unfold. The story starts with the Michaelson family moving to a new area, in this neighborhood their lives change. Lucy Deakins stars as a young teenage girl named Milly Michaelson, she discovers her neighbor Eric Gibb played by Jay Underwood has a unique gift. She seems to get closer to him as the film progresses. Eric is an introverted silent type of a guy and a bit of a loner.
I wanted to mention that both Jay Underwood and Lucy Deakins both worked with the late great John Candy. Which I thought was interesting, Jay Underwood was the character “Bug” in Uncle Buck (1989) and Lucy Deakins was the character “Cammie” in The Great Outdoors (1988). I thought Lucy’s film career was cut way too short; she had potential to sustain a much longer career. In case you wondered what happened to her, she is now married and working as an attorney in New York City.
Bonnie Bedelia plays Milly’s recently widowed mother named Charlene Michaelson, her younger brother you might also recognize Louis Michaelson played by a very young Fred Savage. Colleen Dewhurst is Mrs. Sherman, the late Fred Gwynne is Uncle Hugo Gibb, Mindy Cohn is Geneva, Janet MacLachlan is Mrs. D’Gregario, Jennifer Michas is Mona, Michelle Bardeaux is Erin, Aura Pithart is Colette, Cameron Bancroft is Joe, Chris Arnold is Sonny, Sean Kelso is the Bad Boy and keep your eyes open for Jason Priestley as Gary.
I think this film still holds up even today, it is some enjoyable you can watch with your family and friends. It is tough to find good character driven stories nowadays. This one is a bit of an old gem.
“Between a silent boy and a beautiful girl lies an amazing secret”
Many might not remember this one, but it was a pretty good film. It certainly kept your interest while you follow the antics of Fred and Lizzie. The story is about the imagination of a child, and how sometimes it is tough to let go of those imaginary friends children sometimes have. This would be considered a fantasy comedy film. It was directed by Ate de Jong and the story was written by Elizabeth Livingston. The screenplay was written by Carlos Davis and Anthony Fingleton.
The story follows a young Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Cronin as a child and how she interacts with her imaginary friend named Drop Dead Fred played by Rik Mayall. Fast forward to the present, and you see her all grown up played by Phoebe Cates with her life falling apart. She unlocks a box, where she put her friend Fred in; from there everything goes crazy as she tries to contain herself from Fred’s influences on her. She struggles with an over protective and controlling mother, and her husband that is cheating on her.
There are a few other faces in this one you might find familiar such as: Marsha Mason as Polly Cronin, Carrie Fisher as Janie, Tim Matheson as Charles, Keith Charles as Murray, Ashley Peldon is the Young Elizabeth, Daniel Gerroll is Nigel Cronin, Ron Eldard is Mickey Bunce, Bob Reid is Judge Dubben, and Sjoukje De Jong Douma is Grandma Bunce.
It would be best described as a quirky off beat kind of a film, it didn’t find a true mainstream audience, but now with DVD rentals it has grown some in popularity. I recommend this one as something you can enjoy with family and friends. I don’t think it would be suitable for very young children however. It has a runtime of 103 minutes.
I watched this one the other day, thought it was quite good for an animated film. It was a creative throwback to the monster movies from the past. It was directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon. A collaborative effort on the screenplay was done by Maya Forbes, Rob Letterman, Wallace Wolodarsky, Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger and the initial story was contrived by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon.
The cast includes an interesting mix of talent such as Reese Witherspoon who is the voice of Susan Murphy aka Ginormica. Her character was surely inspired by Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958) feature. Paul Rudd is the voice of her love interest named Derek Dietl who is a newscaster at a local network station trying to move his way up the ladder.
Seth Rogen is the voice one of the monster characters named simply B.O.B. this character was a tribute to the slimy creature The Blob (1958) starring the late Steve McQueen. There was a remake of the film The Blob (1988) as well. Hugh Laurie is the voice of Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. a mad scientist type character which I think was inspired by The Fly (1958) starring the late Vincent Price. Again, there was a remake of this film directed by David Cronenberg with the same title The Fly (1986) starring Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis.
Will Arnett is the voice of The Missing Link which is a character inspired by the classic Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) with Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, and Richard Denning. Kiefer Sutherland brings his voice as the over the top General W.R. Monger who is a stereotypical military man. Rainn Wilson is the voice of Gallaxhar the alien invader. Stephen Colbert best known from the network station Comedy Central is the voice of President Hathaway. Julie White is the voice of Wendy Murphy, Jeffrey Tambor is the voice of Carl Murphy, Amy Poehler is the voice of the Computer on the alien spacecraft, Ed Helms is the voice of the News Reporter, Renée Zellweger is the voice of Katie, John Krasinski is the voice of Cuthbert, Sean Bishop is the voice of Private Bullhorn, the Helicopter Pilot, and Advisor Ortega.
The story is about a woman (Susan) who gets hit by a meteorite and things dramatically change in her life affecting her in ways she doesn’t realize until later in the story. She is surrounded by new unusual friends and together they must save our planet from the sinister alien invader. There are a few life lessons thrown into this story which were good values for younger children to learn. Overall, I think this is something anyone can enjoy and it holds your interest throughout the length of the film.
