Up in the Air (2009)
Bottomline: Terrific movie about grown-ups made for grown-ups.
Pros: George Clooney. Vera Farmiga. Anna Kendrick. Jason Bateman. Great Story. Sharp dialogue.
Cons: Having been a victim of a lay-off (June 9, 1998), a lot of what happens in this movie hits very close to home.
Where Can I See It? It is in wide release in theaters.
QMR Opinion: Clooney portrays a man whose sole purpose is to come into businesses and fire people. In addition, he takes great pride in the fact that he has no real relationship with anyone. He spends all of his time on the road. Then he meets Farmiga and Kendrick. All three of the principals are simply terrific. I was particularly impressed with Kendrick who showed that she has the chops to share the screen with Farmiga and Clooney, who are both on fire here. Reitman's direction is spot on and the dialogue is real, witty and pitch perfect.
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Bottomline: Great animated feature perfect for all ages.
Pros: Beautiful hand-drawn animation. Voice acting is superb. Familiar story with a twist.
Cons: Story drags here and there. The trailer for this movie gives too much away.
CAVEAT: There are at least three scenes in this movie that caused young folks (6 and under) to cry in the theater.
Where Can I See This Movie? It is in wide release in theaters.
QMR Opinion: There will always be a soft place in my heart for hand-drawn animation. It has a certain warmth and graphic tonality that you simply don't get with computer animation and, yes, I include my favorite movie studio production in that statement -- Pixar. This is a beautiful story told with a great twist and magnificently animated. I was thoroughly impressed with the voice acting and, in particular, Keith David, who plays the Voodoo Villain. The music was fine with my favorite being "Almost There." For my money, there wasn't enough Mama Odie.
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
Bottomline: Beautifully animated film whose storyline gets incredibly confusing toward the end.
Pros: It's a Miyazaki-directed film so the animation is beautiful, detailed and flawless. Voices include: Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall, Blythe Danner, Billy Crystal, and Christian Bale.
Cons: The storyline meanders and is rife with symbolism that no one outside of Japan will understand.
Where Can I See This Movie? I saw this on the IFC channel but it is available for rent on DVD.
QMR Opinion: I will have to admit to something here -- I am not a huge fan of Japanese animation aka "anime." I honestly believe Pixar and, for that matter, Disney are producing better animated features. Miyazaki is considered THE master of Japanese anime and has receive numerous accolades for his feature, Spirited Away (2001), which I did not like. So I recorded Howl on the DVR. It was much better than I had anticipated. The hand-drawn animation is phenomenal in its beauty and detail. The story was great until about three-quarters of the way through and then it lost its way. The movie is set in an oddly Victorian-mechanized era populated with wizards and witches. A young lady is cursed and finds herself connected to Howl, a wizard. The movie is rated PG, which, I assume, is because of some war scenes.
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