Review of the week: Pixar's UP

It's official, Pixar has kept UP their streak with another fantastic film. 10/10, no other film company can boast that, not even close. Pixar continues to make fantastic films accessible to both children and adults, and UP might be the best yet, which is saying a lot with such classics as The Incredibles and Wall-E on their resume. UP tells the story of elderly gentlemen Carl Fredrickson and his journey to Paradise Falls, a place he dreamed about visiting as a child.

Carl has become one of my favorite Pixar characters. Voiced by Ed Asner, Carl is a sweet man who wants to fulfill his dreams. Accompanied by equally sweet and innocent Wilderness Scout, Russell, the to have an adventure of a lifetime.

The story in UP is both equally touching and hilarious, pulling at your heartstrings one moment and your funny bone another, without warning. Pixar has perfected their story-telling style in the past decade or so and knows which buttons to press.

Not only is UP emotionally engrossing but it is also visually stunning. Everything from the character design to the environments are simply breathtaking to look at. Each person, place, and thing has their own distinct personality and charm that is impossible not to love. The 3-D element is a nice touch, but this masterpiece would be just as tantalizing in the normal format as well.

All in all, UP is simply a movie everyone can enjoy, regardless of age. Pixar has another fantastic movie under their belt, and I look forward to many more great films from this prestigious studio.


Final Grade: A+

Brand new review: The Watchmen

Well it's been awhile since I have written a review, and I thought it would be appropriate to start back in with this great new film, The Watchmen. I am a huge fan of the graphic novel, and I have read it several times. I was, as I am sure most readers were, skeptical on how the Watchmen's complex narrative and characters were going to be transitioned onto the silver screen. I was pleasantly surprised. For the most part, the film was faithful to its source material, except for a bit or two at the end. There were some less important subplots left out, but from what I understand many of those will be resurrected in the Director's Cut of the film, bringing the film into over 4 hour territory. The Watchmen is very long as is, clocking in at about 2 hours and 37 minutes.

Visually, this movie is very impressive. Director Zack Snyder certainly knows how to create a gorgeous atmosphere, as we know from his previous film, 300. There is a particularly great segment during the opening credits, explaining the Minutemen (the original group of masked avengers) and the early days of the Watchmen. It is one of my favorite opening credit scenes ever. It really captured the mood of the time with Bob Dylan's "The Times are A-Changing" playing in the backround.

The actor's even do a good job, especially Jackie Earl Haley as Rorschach. Every one of my friends who has seen it has said that he is their favorite character. I really though the film noir-ness he brought to the film with his journal and ominous voice over carried over very well from the graphic novel.

Overall, this is definitely an epic film that I would recommend to everyone, as well as reading the graphic novel. Visually stimulating, your eyes will think its thanksgiving with all the brilliant images that it is experiencing.

Rating: B+