Here is one you might have missed, it was an indie release. The cast really made this film, and the direction by Thomas McCarthy who also wrote the screenplay was wonderfully done. I think most people will find this film quite enjoyable; the characters are fascinating enough to keep you interested for the duration of the film.
The main story is about a man born with dwarfism who enjoys train spotting as his hobby. He inherits some New Jersey station property in a remote location and along the way of moving to the area – he meets a few interesting people who greatly affect his life. In some ways, he becomes an inspiration to them by demonstrating his drive and determination to succeed in everything he does not being limited by his small stature.
Each one of these people are unique, and I think that is the bottom line about this film, it shows how we all are individuals who seek to find our purpose in life one way or another. The film was labeled as a comedy/drama and it is pretty true to being that. There are some light hearted moments thrown inside this story as well as dramatic ones. New Jersey native Peter Dinklage portrays the character Finbar McBride who is the lead actor in this, in real life he often jokes about his size and doesn’t let it bother him as it once did when he was a teenager.
There aren’t many actors in this film, but it keeps at a good pace. Raven Goodwin plays Cleo and I thought she did a nice job opposite of Peter Dinklage (Finbar).
He meets up later in the story with Patricia Clarkson, who plays Olivia Harris who is a broken woman with different issues seeking solitude from the rest of the world. Richard Kind plays Louis Tiboni, Paul Benjamin plays Henry Styles, Jase Blankfort plays the Store Customer, Paula Garcés plays the Cashier, Josh Pais plays Carl, Bobby Cannavale plays Joe Oramas, Lynn Cohen plays Patty, Marla Sucharetza plays Janice, Jayce Bartok plays Chris, Joe Lo Truglio plays Danny, also keep your eyes open for Michelle Williams who plays Emily and John Slattery playing David.
The director did a good job at balancing things and the film has its appeal, it is a charming story, and I think most will enjoy seeing this one.
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.
You quite certainly get what you might have expected after seeing this one; it delivers enough edge of your seat moments, and the film is on par with other end of the world disaster films. Maybe at times some of the scenes were far too Hollywoodish, and were dumbed down a bit much. I anticipated this being visually exciting to see with all the special effects, and I wasn’t let down. Some of the scenes were surreal in their appearance; you can’t help but appreciate the hard work that went into bringing these disastrous moments to life sort of speak. German director Roland Emmerich directed this, he is known for his past contributions to end of the world films. He has been the executive producer and director for the hit film Independence Day (1996) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004). Harald Kloser worked on the screenplay with Roland Emmerich.
Although I respect a number of the actors who play parts in this film, it seemed like they were a bit off in their performances and didn’t match the story as unknown or upcoming actors might have. I think this would have made the film better overall. I guess what I’m saying is there is a lack of depth to the characters; the film’s leading characters are the CGI special effects that really stood out among everything else. Perhaps the actors didn’t have enough to work with and it fell short somehow.
Many people were disappointed from the lack of the Mayan prophecies which were not explored or explained in some way and then projected into the film. Basically, the story follows around a man named Jackson Curtis and his rocky relationship between his children and wife. Liam James plays Noah Curtis and Lilly Curtis played by Morgan Lily wife. John Cusack plays Jackson Curtis and his wife is played by Amanda Peet as Kate Curtis they share many scenarios together. These trials and tribulations lead them to a somewhat predictable ending.
We also see Adrian Helmsley played by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor as a geologist who has read many books as a child and helps to predict what will happen next. Thandie Newton appears in this as the president’s daughter Laura Wilson. Danny Glover is President Thomas Wilson, Oliver Platt is Carl Anheuser, Thomas McCarthy is Gordon Silberman, Woody Harrelson is Charlie Frost, Zlatko Buric is Yuri Karpov, Beatrice Rosen is Tamara, Alexandre Haussmann is Alec, Philippe Haussmann is Oleg, and Johann Urb is Sasha.
This would be considered an action film, with some almost comedic moments of cheesy unrealistic scenes which play out. I still think however it is something you can enjoy at home while eating some popcorn.
