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Title: Wall-E
"Own it" vs. "Once is enough": Oh, own it. You know you want to. This is one of those movies that I will be asking for for Christmas, and hopefully I'll get the three-disk special edition
, which I've been told is packed full of interesting features. This one's not on my shelf yet, but it will be shortly.
[Rent this movie from Blockbuster.com; Rent this movie from Netflix.com; Buy this movie from Amazon.com
]
]Summary: In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind. [imdb.com]
Genre: animation, comedy, social commentary, romance, sci-fi
Audience: Everyone. Seriously. I've not met a single person who didn't like this movie.
Occasion: Any time you need a heart-warming, uplifting crowd-pleaser.
Watch every minute? Not necessary, but you'll miss some of the subtleties if you don't.
Big Screen vs. Small Screen: Fantastic on the big screen, fun on the small screen.
Why I liked it: From the minute I saw the teaser (I recommend watching the vingettes, too) for Wall-E in the run of previews before Ratatouille, I was excited about this movie. First of all, it's a Pixar film, and they have never disappointed. That's a huge selling point. But secondly, from the moment I saw him, I just fell in love with the character of Wall-E, and I wanted to know his story. He's a robot, sure, but he's also curious and good-hearted and heart-breakingly lonely.
The film itself is brilliant. As Peter Travers, the movie critic for "Rolling Stone" writes, "The virtually dialogue-free first half hour is jaw-dropping perfection," and the film only gets better from there. Some might question my classification of Wall-E as a romance, seeing as it's a movie about robots in the future, but the love story between Wall-E and Eve that is truly magical.
"Own it" vs. "Once is enough": Oh, own it. You know you want to. This is one of those movies that I will be asking for for Christmas, and hopefully I'll get the three-disk special edition
, which I've been told is packed full of interesting features. This one's not on my shelf yet, but it will be shortly. If you liked...: Toy Story, Toy Story II, A Bug's Life, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Over the Hedge, E.T., Chicken Little... I could go on. Just see the movie. Really. It's that good.
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Title: Get Smart
[Rent this movie from Blockbuster.com; Rent this movie from Netflix.com; Buy this movie from Amazon.com]
]Summary: Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 for CONTROL, battles the forces of KAOS with the more-competent Agent 99 at his side. [imdb.com]
Genre: spy, comedy, action, spoof, homage
Audience: Fans of the original Get Smart TV Show (they did consult Mel Brooks for the movie, so it really is that good); anyone with a sense of humor; not good to watch if you don't like slapstick or bodily humor.
Occasion: Good for a laugh that you don't really have to think about.
Watch every minute? Not necessary, but you'll laugh harder if you do.
Big Screen vs. Small Screen: Either
Why I liked it: This movie is a perfect blend of humor, spoof, and feel-good-ness. Yes, that's right, feel-good-ness. Steve Carell plays Maxwell Smart, a character who you think is going to be completely incompetent, but proves to be quite good at both being an CONTROL Analyst and an unorthodox, but effective Agent, for all that common sense isn't really his strong suit. Anne Hathaway plays his unwilling partner and is a good as she is in everything (even The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, which were popular, but very silly movies), and Dwyane Johnson (a.k.a. "The Rock") does a great job as the slick, competent Agent 23. As one would expect with a movie based on a show by Mel Brooks, it balances the funny with just the right amount of serious, and it just a darn good time.
"Own it" vs. "Once is enough": Obviously, I've seen this movie more than once. This is one that I would own, if only so I could show it to others without having to rent it. I can see wanting to see this more than three times.
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2 comments:
I was surprised how much I liked Get Smart. I thought it was going to be all dumb slap-stick, but Mr. Smart was actually pretty canny and deep.
The tango scene was my favorite :-)
Yeah, this is a movie that really took me by surprise as well. Although I've learned to really appreciate Steve Carrel and how talented an actor he is. He can sell any role, I think, and make you believe it.
"40-year old Virgin" is a prime example of that. I thought I was going to HATE the movie. When I first saw the preview I couldn't believe that they had made a movie about such a dumb premise, and with such a dumb title.
But friends convinced me to go see it, and I was surprised at how much I really felt for the main character and how not-stupid the movie was.
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