Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

If you've seen a Wes Anderson film, you know his movies are infused with quirkiness. Fantastic Mr. Fox is no exception.

And if you're a big Wes Anderson fan, you'll also be delighted with the homages to his other films. From a tussle and caper planing worthy of Bottle Rocket, to a precocious, multi-talented cousin out of Rushmore, to a compartmental overview of the Fox tree like in The Life Aquatic to the farmer character introduction and segment labeling out of The Royal Tenenbaums, they're all pieces that work in this movie too.

I don't remember ever reading Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox, so my review is based on the movie on its own. And it definitely stands on its own.

Depicted in stop-motion animation is Mr. Fox, who is voiced by George Clooney. He likes to steal squabs, but one time when him and his wife (Meryl Streep) are in trouble during a theft, she tells him she's pregnant and makes him promise that if they get out of this alive, he'll find a less dangerous career. 12 fox years later, Mr. Fox is now a newspaper columnist and the father of the mopey Ash (Jason Schwartzman). Mr. Fox is getting restless though. He moves the family into a tree across the way from the farms of Boggis, Bunce, and Bean and the temptation to return to his old lifestyle becomes too much. Soon he's planning raids of the farms with opossum building superintendent, Kylie (Wallace Wolodarsky), and his visiting nephew, Kristofferson (Eric Chase Anderson - the illustrator of all of the maps, covers, and other packaging of the Criterion Collection editions of his brother Wes' films).

Incredible suspension of disbelief is required to watch this - beyond that of accepting talking animals. Plenty of things that don't quite make sense take place, but if you don't bother questioning it all, it's a fun ride. There's plenty of dry humor but it's also whimsical, amusing, and features some great performances by the voice actors.

Meryl Streep is calm, grounded, a bit more timid than we're used to hearing her. Willem Defoe proves he can be creepy as anyone, especially a rat. Mario Batali even makes an appearance as a rabbit who is also a chef... because of course we need accuracy in our rabbit chef portrayal. Wes Anderson seems to have even pushed George Clooney into the Wes Anderson Line Delivery Method. Anderson had the cast go out to a real farm and record their lines as they were acting out their scenes. So many times animated movies are missing that chemistry that appears when actors are actually performing in the same space. But this technique really helped bring the performances into cohesive ensemble work.

I think this movie even has a broader appeal than his others. Some people might assume with Wes Anderson at the helm, the movie's meant for adults but I think kids can enjoy it too. It carries a message that it's ok to be different. And by the end, no matter what your age, you'll probably find yourself wanting a bandit hat.

Rating: 4/5
Recommended for: Anyone in the mood for fun and bandit hats

An Education (2009)

If you've read some of my other recent reviews, you'll have noticed I've been disenchanted with the lack of freshness in some recent films. Well... consider me refreshed. An Education is a sweetly charming viewing experience with a quiet solidity that keeps it from flying away.

It's a coming-of-age movie and yet it's not corny or silly. It helps that the main character, Jenny, is already fairly mature and intelligent for her 16 years - there's just some things about life that school hasn't taught her. It's the 1960s in the London suburbs and Jenny is waiting in the rain for the bus after orchestra practice when a man about twice her age, David, offers to give her a ride home. Nowadays one might think stranger danger. Jenny does too for a moment, but his sincerity and offer to protect the cello and let her walk along side the car eventually convince her to get in.

They bump into each other some more and she ends up dating him. Her parents are even ok with it. David has a convincing story for everything. He tells them he just wants to expose her to culture. Before she met David, Jenny wanting nothing more than to read English at Oxford. But now the life David presents seems so much more interesting and the Oxford priority fades.

Carey Mulligan plays Jenny. Several critics have likened her to Audrey Hepburn - although I think a lot of that comes from the time period of An Education and Mulligan's vague resemblance. While Hepburn often played the wide-eyed girl experiencing things for the first time, Mulligan is much more coy. We can see her excitement and her sadness but it all plays out on a less extreme spectrum than Hepburn's usually did. Mulligan has this heft to her performance as she balances maturity and self-awareness with surprise and naivete. Jenny knows so much but there's still so much she doesn't know and Mulligan pulls this off so well it's no wonder she's won several awards for the role.

Meanwhile Peter Sarsgaard plays David, pulling off a decent English accent in the process. He clearly knows his own intentions for Jenny but he hides behind a haze of mystery, sweetness, and reasoning for Jenny, her family and the audience. He skates just along the edge of the creepy line and then back into the territory of maybe-he-just-wants-the-best-for-her.

At one point, David gets permission to take Jenny to Paris - a place she always wanted to go. And it's refreshing to see people go to Paris without driving through the entire city for a montage. Director Lone Scherfig and her team capture a carefree, romantic Paris, only popping in a few landmarks without letting them pull the focus. The color of Jenny's time with David stands opposite the appearance of her dreary school life but the contrast is smooth and subtle enough that it doesn't hit you over the head. And the costumes are beautiful and tailored without it becoming a costume drama.

The whole movie is a beautiful balancing act around a compelling story.

Rating: 5/5
Recommended for: Showing Audrey Hepburn how it's done today.

All Through the Night (1941)

Not too long ago I decided I wanted to watch every film Humphrey Bogart made. His characters tend to be similar to each other but, unlike Clooney characters, Bogart's never seem to materialize out of nowhere. Each has a backstory, each has some heavy weight they're carrying.
They're all well-rounded in that way and yet they're all a bit different. I've seen nine so far, but after seeing, All Through the Night I might just be happy with what I've already seen and move on.

All Through the Night came out right after The Maltese Falcon, Bogart's big break as a leading player. But in All Through the Night, Bogart plays a gangster, a role he pretty much always played in B movies before The Maltese Falcon. So all that character depth I previously mentioned? Not so much. In fact, at least three other guys in the movie are playing almost the exact same part as Bogart. And everyone except the Nazis and the women are talking in wise-guy voices that all sound exactly the same. Turn away from the screen and there's a good chance you won't know who is talking.

And yeah, there's that Nazi thing. What starts out as some gambling gangsters trying to figure out who killed their favorite cheesecake baker spins into the discovery of an evil Nazi plot for chaos and destruction. I almost can't even believe it as I type it. It all pops out of nowhere amongst fight scenes that are borderline slapstick.

It's all so ridiculous that the only redeemable part that comes to mind is Peter Lorre, who is as creepy as ever as Pepi, the watchdog/hitman.

Rating: 1/5
Recommended for: People who cannot get enough of the 40s movie gangster accent

Whip It (2009)

Whip It is Drew Barrymore's directorial debut. And I guess I was expecting something amazing. She's been in the movie business most of her life and instead of propelling originality, it seems to be a lot of the classic shots and telling techniques we've seen so many times before. Now what she gave us wasn't bad - it just wasn't what I was expecting.

The story, set in small-town Texas, is about a teenager named Bliss (Ellen Page) whose mother heavy-hands her into local beauty pageant after pageant. Bliss is less than thrilled but goes through the motions until she discovers roller derby. Becoming part of the underdog team The Hurl Scouts becomes her secret passion. She sneaks off to practices and games. Her best friend is in on it. She finds some understanding in her situation with her mother from her father. And she's really good at her sport.

And voila... we have a roller derby version of Bend it Like Beckham.

It's a charming enough movie. It's a well-acted enough movie. The ensemble cast is great. It's about roller derby - a sport that is definitely not over-saturated in the way of movie depictions. And it's predictable in many aspects but not overly-predictable as a whole. In the end though, it just didn't seem distinct enough for me.

Rating: 3/5
Recommended for: Those of you who haven't seen Bend it Like Beckham (especially if you're unfamiliar with British culture).