Every war is different, every war is the same.

– Anthony ‘Swoff’ Swofford

During my subscription of Details magazine circa 2003, I passed by a blurb for Anthony Swofford briefly discussing his memoir about his time in the Persian Gulf War called Jarhead. Sam Mendes directed the big screen adaptation of his story. I loved that the story is not a war movie, but a movie about young soldier’s journey.

Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a Marine recruit that is trying to find himself. He thought that the military was the best decision, but he regrets it. He is introduced to his platoon, Gulf Company. His initial reception does not turn out why the way that he thought. They tried to initiate him with a mock branding of the USMC.

Pretending that he has a stomach virus, he meets Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jaime Foxx) in the crapper. Seeing that Swofford is not as dumb as he thinks he is, Sykes wants Swofford to train as a scout sniper. Swofford jumps at the opportunity. He is teamed up with Troy (Peter Sarsgaard).

As the Iraqis invaded Kuwait, Second Platoon is deployed to the battle zone. The Marines think that they would be there a maximum of two weeks, but things changed. As part of Operation Desert Shield, their orders from their battalion leader Lt. Col. Kazinski (Chris Cooper) are to guard the oil fields that are a constant target of the Iraqi militants.

The platoon has to learn is about to the harsh conditions of the desert, how to survive the insurmountable boredom of non-combat conditions. As the days turn into months, Swofford’s mind begins to unravel as he learns that his girlfriend is cheating and he is not seeing any action.

Everybody knows how much of a “Gyllenhaalic” I am. I remember taking my ex-boyfriend to see this movie in the theaters. I was engrossed in the movie and I looked over to see that he was sleeping. That’s why he became an ex-boyfriend.

Sam Mendes has a way to make a monochromic setting into a thing of beauty. You see sand blackened with soot and ash from fireballs or burning oil wells in the distance. It’s like the screen is inverted.

Judgment: If you are the kind of person that doesn’t like gory war movie, you would enjoy

Rating: ****

Zarte 13 bis 14 Jahre jung und schon auf der großen Leinwand zu sehen. Und dass nicht etwa in einem schnöden Teeniefilm, sondern in einem waschechtem Drama/Liebesfilm. Nun, Scarlett Johansson hatte vor über 10 Jahren mit der Romanze wenig zu tun, tragisch ging es ihrer Rolle schon eher an den Kragen.

Grace (Scarlett Johansson) liebt ihr Pferd Pilgrim über alles. Um mit ihrer besten Freundin auszureiten, schleicht sie sich aus dem Haus und läuft zum Stall. Bester Laune beginnt der Reitausflug und endet schließlich in einem folgeschweren Unglück. Graces Freundin und ihr Pferd werden von einem tonnenschweren Truck erwischt, überleben diesen Unfall nicht, während Grace selbst schwer verletzt und traumatisiert am Leben bleibt. Nachdem ihr das rechte Bein amputiert werden musste, ist das bloß eine äußere Änderung in ihrem Leben. Denn so schnell und einfach schafft sie es verständlicherweise nicht wieder in den Alltag hineinzufinden. Deshalb beschließt sie, ihr Pferd wiedersehen zu wollen. Doch sie muss feststellen, dass auch Pilgrim schwerste Wunden davongetragen hat und ebenfalls traumatisiert sein Dasein fristet. Ihre Mutter Annie MacLean (Kristin Scott Thomas) beschließt, Hilfe für Pilgrim zu suchen, weil sie dessen Heilung als einzi9g verbliebenes Heilmittel für ihre Tochter sieht. Dabei stößt sie auf den Pferdeflüsterer Tom Booker (Robert Redford), der sie vorerst abwimmelt.  Entgegen aller Einwände ihres Mannes Robert (Sam Neill) und Grace fährt sie mit Pilgrim und ihrer Tochter über tausend Meilen weit von New York ins beschauliche Montana. Tom nimmt sich letztlich doch ihres Pferdes an, unter der Voraussetzung, dass Grace ihm mit Pilgrim hilft. Schon nach kurzer Zeit kümmert sich Tom nicht nur noch um das Pferd, sondern auch um Grace und ihre Mutter, deren Beziehung zueinander zerrüttet ist wie nie zuvor. Annie verliebt sich dabei in Tom und sieht sich bald einem nicht entfliehbarem Konflikt gegenüber.

[Upon having her leg amputated]
Grace: Who’s going to want me now?
———————-
Tom Booker: There was a boy from the Blackfeet reservation, he used to do some work around here for a while. Sixteen, strong kid, good kid. He and I were really, really good friends. One day he went swimming and dove headfirst into the lake… and right into a rock. And it snapped his neck, paralyzed him. And after the accident I’d look in on him from time to time. But he wasn’t there. It was like his mind, his spirit, whatever you want to call it, just disappeared. The only thing left was just anger. Just sort of as if the… the boy I once knew just went somewhere else.
Grace: I know where he goes.
Tom Booker: I know you do. Don’t you disappear.

Quelle: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119314/quotes

“Der Pferdeflüsterer” legt sich nicht auf Genregrenzen fest. Mal stehen Pilgrim und Grace im Vordergrund, doch phasenweise drängt sich die Liebesgeschichte um Tom und Annie vor. Im Herzen scheint der Film sich aber eher ein Drama zu sein, in dem sich eine Liebesgeschichte entwickelt. Denn den Rahmen bildet ganz klar die Verfassung der jungen Grace. Zuerst durchaus glücklich, bis sie sich nachvollziehbar zu einem scheuen und zurückgezogenem Mädchen entwickelt. Gerade aufgrund dieser schwierigen Entwicklung muss man Scarlett Johanssons Leistung hoch einschätzen. Denn Grace wird tatsächlich zu einer Identifikationsfigur und ihr charakteristischer Wandel wirkt durchaus glaubhaft.

Wie es im Filmgeschäft aber oft vorkommt, geraten die eigentlichen Hauptfiguren ein wenig in den Hintergrund, wenn die übrigen Rollen von Stars besetzt werden. Der Film trägt ja schon den Titel “Der Pferdeflüsterer”. Doch die Geschichte konzentriert sich zu sehr auf Tom Booker alias Robert Redford, welcher auch gleich noch in die Rollen des Regisseurs und Produzenten schlüpfte. Auch Kristin Scott Thomas rückt sehr in den Vordergrund, wodurch der Film sich phasenweise wirklich zu einem Liebesfilm entwickeln kann, wobei der Fokus doch eher auf Grace liegen sollte.

Möglicherweise sollte einer jungen Darstellerin auch nicht zu viel zugemutet werden, Scarlett Johansson lässt jedoch einiges an Talent aufblitzen und wird vom restlichen Ensemble willig in seine Reihen aufgenommen und auch nicht von Oscargewinner Robert Redford gnadenlos in den Schatten gestellt. Tatsächlich ist das Casting sehr gelungen, da alle Schauspieler gut miteinander harmonieren und die verschiedenen Rollen und gegenseitige Beziehungen authentisch auf die Leinwand übertragen können. Mit Chris Cooper (“American Beauty”) und Dianne Wiest (“Edward mit den Scherenhänden”) hat Redford gleich noch zwei weitere oscarprämierte Schauspieler ins Team locken können – bei so viel schauspielerischem Können kann ja nicht viel schiefgehen.

Tatsächlich ist eben der größte Haken an der Geschichte, dass Redford nie ganz genau weiß, in welche Richtung er den Film letztlich lenken will und wo der Fokus liegen soll. In Gedanken bleibt dieser zwar doch auf Graces Schicksal. Auf auf der Leinwand wandert er jedoch zu häufig hin und her. Neben der tollen Schauspielerriege bieten die wunderschönen Naturaufnahmen noch einiges an Schauwerten und schlagen das Publikum in ihren Bann. Für Pferdefans führt hingegen kein Weg an diesem Film vorbei.

CUANDO ESTAMOS EN PLENO ESTRENO DE ”NEW MOON”,EL GRAN SUCESO DEL MOMENTO EN EL CINE,NOS LLEGA ”REMEMBER ME”….

RECORDEMOS QUE ESTE FILM TIENE FECHA DE ESTRENO PARA EL PROXIMO MES DE FEBRERO DEL 2010.

COMO UN ADELANTO LES MOSTRAMOS ALGUNAS IMAGENES DEL RODAJE…Y ADEMAS SU TRAILER….

Y PARA FINALIZAR,CON BROCHE DE ORO,LES PRESENTAMOS EL TRAILERS DEL FILM.

VEANLO Y DISFRUTEN CON ESTE NUEVO EXITO EN EL SEPTIMO ARTE DE ROBERT PATTINSON.

This is amazing!, MySpace users  around Australia will be treated to a special pre-release Black Curtain screening of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ on November 30th for FREE (YES YOU READ CORRECTLY…FOR FREE!). All this 4 days before its official national release on December 3rd the ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ Black Curtain screening will give MySpace fans around the country the opportunity to be some of the first in Australia to see this iconic tale of childhood  and self discovery translated  to the screen.

How you can get the tickets?…IS VERY SIMPLE!:
The only way MySpace users can attend an exclusive preview screening of Where the Wild Things Are is by befriending the Black Curtain profile (www.myspace.com/blackcurtainau) where from 4pm on Tuesday November 24^th, they will find a code to SMS in order to be sent a unique ticket to their mobile. This preview screenings will taking place in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Based on one of the most beloved books of all time, “Where the wild things are” tells the story of Max, a rambunctious and sensitive boy who feels misunderstood at home and escapes to where the Wild Things are.  Max lands on an island where he meets mysterious and strange creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions.  The Wild Things desperately long for a leader to guide them, just as Max longs for a kingdom to rule.  When Max is crowned king, he promises to create a place where everyone will be happy. Max soon finds, though, that ruling his kingdom is not so easy and his relationships there prove to be more complicated than he originally thought.

Starring Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara and Forest Whitaker, “Where the Wild Things Are” is directed by Spike Jonze from a screenplay by Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers, based on the book by Maurice Sendak.

So, what are you waiting for?…be ready for the final countdown on Black Curtain and be ready to msn the code. Be the first to watch this big blockbuster!.

If you are not a myspace member, just go to www.myspace.com and create an account, is really simple! and start to enjoy the benefits!, and of course become a friend of Black Curtain to have the chance of be part of this screenings and the future ones!

Wanna see more about this movie?…just watch the trailers here!

GOOD ONE MYSPACE!

Max, the hero of Where The Wild Things Are, is having fun early in the film in a snowball fight. It’s a freewheeling, wonderful action scene, where his sister’s friends attempt to pelt him back as hard as they can, and Max giggles with glee– this is what winter fun is about as a child. Then, one of his sister’s friends caves in his snowbase where he was hiding, and on a dime, Max is terrified, cold, and betrayed. What Spike Jonze gets about childhood throughout the film, and what makes Where The Wild Things Are such a beautiful, melancholy experience, is that while we remember it as this magical carefree time, the opposite is true– children care more strongly than we jaded adults do. We trust completely, we love completely, we give ourselves over to our feelings and our experiences with total abandon, and thus our strong emotions switch quickly.  My emotions weren’t switching while watching the film– I was enraptured the entire time.

The story, adapted from a book which contains only ten sentences, centers in on Max (Max Records), a kid who feels his sister and mom don’t pay him enough attention, and after a bratty confrontation with his mom where he bites her, he runs away, hops on a boat, and sails to the land of the Wild Things. He meets Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini), the leader of the pack, an impulsive frustrated monster. Along with him are his friends, Ira (Forest Whitaker), Judith (Catherine O’Hara), Alexander (Paul Dano), Douglas (Chris Cooper), and the silent Bull. Finally, there’s K.W. (Lauren Ambrose), a loner who takes long ventures out to meet other creatures, which angers Carol, who is focused on trying to keep the whole group together as best friends forever.

Roger Ebert said in his review of The Polar Express, “”The Polar Express” has the quality of a lot of lasting children’s entertainment: It’s a little creepy. Not creepy in an unpleasant way, but in that sneaky, teasing way that lets you know eerie things could happen. There’s a deeper, shivery tone…a world of its own, like “The Wizard of Oz” or “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” in which the wise child does not feel too complacent.” Spike Jonze achieves the exact same effect here. When Max first arrives, the monsters threaten to eat him. We as trained audience members feel this is an empty threat– after all, little boys don’t die in movies like this. A few minutes later, we see a pile of bones, unmistakably made up of their previous leaders who displeased them. Complacency is immediately tossed out the window. These monsters aren’t just nice friends, they’re real threats who could turn on Max if things go awry. The label of “wild thing” isn’t handled with kiddie gloves.

Yet the film never loses its realistic depiction of childishness. Max, like real children, can be a brat if he feels neglected or scorned. He bites his mother and stomps around– it’d be easy to judge this character at this point in the film if we totally lost the ability to look back at our own younger days, to the stories our parents told us about things we did as children that we would be horrified to see nowadays. When he encounters the monsters, all he wants to do with them are the same things he would do at home– run around, jump, dig holes, build makeshift “homes” outdoors. He wants everyone to sleep together in a real pile, because let’s be honest, if you saw a bunch of big fuzzy monsters like that, you’d darn sure want to hug them. The monsters exhibit this childishness as well. Carol is temperamental, Judith is pouty and doubtful, Ira is a pushover, Alexander seeks attention, and Douglas is trustworthy and reliable. When Carol introduces Max to Douglas and says, “I count on him for everything,” there was a simple beauty and childish honesty to the delivery that made my eyes well up.

Perhaps I’m the wrong person to review this, since I found the book so perfect as a kid, so there’s a sense of sentimentality that I immediately place on the material. However, I think this is the rare movie that should fully please fans of the book. Usually, fans of a book whine about things left out of the film adaptation, and I write a review insisting that we must remove our devotion to the core material’s particulars in order to see if the movie captured the essence of the book the best way that it could– simply put, is it a good movie, book be damned? Here is the exact opposite scenario: a book has had tons of material added to its ten-sentence story, and I think that every single bit added captures the essence flawlessly. The script, by Jonze and Dave Eggers, can also be interpreted to give the monsters various symbolic meanings and interpretations, though for me such additional scholarly endeavors are unnecessary; the characters stand on their own without any added symbolism.

Jonze’s effects work (a combination of real puppet bodies and some CGI face work) is a revelation in a time when CGI is thrown haphazardly around– here is a director who wanted the child actor to be able to touch, hug, and interact with real wild things, and the decision absolutely paid off. Max Records is a natural, lacking the put-on precociousness most child actors have. The production design and cinematography are easily among the best of the year. This is simply one of those films where every element is combined with such unity of vision that it does more than create a new world… it creates a new reality. There’s not a moment of the film that fails to ring true. And if when Max sets out to leave the Land of the Wild Things, you don’t tear up at his goodbyes with his magical wild friends, you need to thaw out your ice-cold heart. Instead of manipulating your emotions, this fantasy earns them. This is one of the best movies of the year.

Substitute “wild” for “mild”…

Starring Max Records, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo and the voices of James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, Chris Cooper, and Lauren Ambrose. Directed by Spike Jonze. Based on the childrens book by Maurice Sendak

Wow. They kinda sucked the fun out of this one.

It’s been forever since I’ve read Maurice Sendak’s book. My dad read it to me and my brother when we were younger and I vaguely remember enjoying it (as well as the “Reading Rainbow” segment on it). It’s this childhood fondness that drove my want to see Jonze’s movie adaptation of the 1963 classic.

No offense, but I’ll take my “childhood memory” over the movie.

Max is one lonely kid: his older sister Claire is more interested in her friends than paying any attention to him. His mother (Keener) is a stressed-out single mom trying to deal with her job and life as well as the lives of her kids. One night while having a dinner date (with Mark Ruffalo) Max acts up: he screams, climbs the table, stomps on it, fights and eventually bites his mom before running out the door, down the street, and disappearing from sight.

Max finds his way to the water and climbs into a small boat where he heads out into the water and ventures for parts unknown. From the ocean he spots a light in the forest. Might as well check it out…

Scaling up a cliff he wanders into the forest toward the light where he hides, watching the “Things.” One of them, Carol (Gandolfini), is walking around destroying all their huts. Max jumps out into the open and convinces them not to eat him and that he’s a king who conquered vikings. Lacking any real leadership they make him their king. He promises a new world, new adventures, etc., and they take him for his word.

And let me discuss the “Things” for a moment: they’re morose. It would be like a party of severely depressed people trying to “out Eeyore” Eeyore (the melancholic donkey from “Winnie the Pooh”). Yeah, that fun. There’s the headstrong Carol (Gandolfini), the whining Judith (O’Hara), her bore-holes-in-trees partner Ira (Whitaker), low-esteem goat Alexander(Dano), Douglas the chicken (Cooper), and K W (Ambrose) a woman who seeks advice from owls Bob and Terry.

Max proposes an idea to bring everyone together: build a fort that only they can get into. It’ll have a secret underground entrance and a machine that will scoop out the brains of anyone who dares to enter without their consent. Happily they all come together and begin working on fortress.

As a “team-building” exercise, Max declares dirt-clod war, dividing the group into two. They all begin to have fun until someone gets hurt and Max’s position comes into question and his power falters. Max must come to terms and grow up or face the threat of being eaten by Carol.

Maybe in hoping for something great I faulted myself on this one. I wanted something more uplifting, something to remember being a kid and enjoying the book. I didn’t get that from this movie. The
“Things” and Max were stunted in his age-mentality. Maybe that’s what Jonze was going for.

The movie isn’t entirely depressing. There were happy moments but for the most part it’s a depressing movie. Not bittersweet but humbly sad.

If I can say anything good about the film, it’s technically amazing. With CG blending in with animatronics from the Jim Henson company (creators of “The Muppets”), the “Things” are incredible to watch. Jonze went above and beyond in creating characters, nay, a world all to itself. Maybe he gave us all a bit more to chew on then we wanted.

I find this movie tough to suggest. It’s well-made but if you’re looking for sweet, charming, whimsical,
uplifting, and overall warm-fuzziness, it’s not to be had in this one. I’m just sayin’.

My grade: B- (with points for technical achievement)

VERDICT:
10/10 Awesome Dads

One hell of a debut effort by director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Alan Ball. Also happens to be my good buddy Fred’s favorite movie of all time.

Good choice, Fred.

American Beauty is about Lester Burnham, a guy going through a mid-life crisis thanks to the “good job” he hates, the “good marriage” that failed a long time ago, the estranged relationship he has with his daughter that he sees every day but hardly even knows, and the facade of a “good life” he grudgingly maintains in suburban America for the sake of everyone but himself. Then one day he meets his next-door neighbor – a dope-dealing classmate of his daughter – who teaches Lester by example that life is too short to just sit back and accept the way things are. Lester listens, Lester abides, and so begins the story of the most entertaining and profound mid-life crisis I’ve ever seen put to film.

While I’m on the subject, I’m just gonna go ahead and get my Lester Burnham/Kevin Spacey rant out of the way, mainly because he’s a big reason this movie got a 10.

Alright, here it goes…

Lester Burnham is the man. Arguably one of the top three movie protagonists…ever. Part of that is because he’s played by Kevin Spacey, who also happens to be the man and one of the best working actors out there today (now if only he’d take better roles). It helps that Burnham’s such a well-written character to begin with, but it’s not often in movies that you see an actor really become the character he’s playing. The reason the change from Lester the Buzzkill to Lester the Hero is so effective is because Spacey is just so damn believable and invested as he sticks up a big ol’ middle finger to the life he can’t stand and punches it square in the kisser as he passes it by with an ear-to-ear grin on his face.

It’s an amazing display of character development, it’s an amazing display of life in general.

But everyone else is  great, too. Annette Bening is fantastic as Lester’s wife, Carolyn, the one person in the family who seems to relish in their superficial existence and has no idea how to cope with her husband’s sudden disdain for it. She’s a great counterpoint to Lester’s whole mindset and Bening does a great job of making her feel both trapped and

Thora Birch (where’d she go?) is good as Lester’s daughter, Jane. Mena Suvari (probably hiding out with Thora) is good as Jane’s best friend/Lester’s lust interest. I thought Wes Bentley (who has since taken up a campaign to destroy his own career from the inside out with big roles in Ghost Rider and P2) was really good as the terribly odd, yet terribly fascinating Ricky Fitts, Jane’s main squeeze and Lester’s weed pusher/personal idol next door. And Chris Cooper and Allison Janney are also awesome in their own disturbing ways as Ricky’s parents.

Probably could have just left that at “everyone else is great, too,” but hey, good casts like this deserve their props.

And like I said, what an amazing script by Alan Ball. Sam Mendes might be the reason this movie looks so damn good, but the brilliant characters, the wonderful dialogue, and the way this thing goes from great scene to great scene to great scene goes right back to Ball. We’ve all got our favorite moments, and that’s ’cause there’s a lot of ‘em here.

The plastic bag dancing in the wind.

Lester blackmailing his boss.

Lester chucking the asparagus and changing the music.

Lester working the drive-thru window.

Carolyn belting out “Don’t Rain On My Parade” right before she’s pulls into her driveway.

Just so many great scenes here thanks to a perfect little partnership between Mendes and Ball. Those guys should really get back together.

What more can I say about American Beauty. Best movie of 2000, deserved the freakin’ slew of awards it got that year, and it’s the best thing Sam Mendes has done for the world. Still the most insightful and eye-opening behind-closed-doors look into suburban life, and I’ll be damned if that statement ever changes.

…And the scene where Lester goes off on Carolyn after she stops his advances because he’s about to spill beer on their couch – one of my favorite scenes of all time.

“This isn’t life, it’s just stuff! And it’s become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that’s just nuts.”

Fuckin’-A, Lester. Fuckin’-A.

Disclaimer: I have never been to New York City.

After seeing New York, I Love You, I’m dying to go. Inspired by Paris, je t’aime, New York, I Love You follows a very similar formula.

11 filmmakers, 11 stories, and a Robert Altman size cast (including Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, Shia Labeouf, Orlando Blooom, Robin Wright Penn, Eli Wallach, and Chris Cooper), bring New York City to life in this anthology film.

Critical praise has been mixed, many agreeing that the film is an inconsistent, plot-less film.

Well there lies the beauty.

The stories (each directed by a different director) intertwine with one another and connections are made from character to character. Remarkably, the fragmented storyline is still able to keep viewers captivated.

The film is simply about fragments of time and how characters interact with one another throughout life.  Although the film is a tiny glimpse into the character’s lives and cultures, New York, I Love You paints a realist world that hasn’t been seen since the Italian neo-realist movement.

The remarkable performances of Ethan Hawke, Natalie Portman, Shia Labeouf (what a shock?!), and Orlando Bloom really bring the film to life.

Bloom’s performance is the centerpiece of director Shunji Iwai’s segment.  Without a doubt my favorite storyline, Iwai’s story of the hopeless, writer romantic (Bloom) and the unlikely girl next door (Christina Ricci) is something every girl would call “cute” and every guy would have to fight off emotion to hide it.

Even hack director Brett Ratner directed a segment that had heart (something he has never done, outside of TV’s Prison Break).

If you are looking for a three act plot with a singular storyline, forget about this film. If you seek a story that is foundationally simple, yet sophisticated in its realism and heart, New York, I Love You would be a wonderful choice. The fragmented storyline won’t give you a singular storyline, but it will paint a vivid picture of life and a small period of time: a period of time so small that if you blink, it could be lost for good in the Big Apple.

(3 out of 4 stars)

I Love You,

-Nolan Wilson Goff

Check out the trailer below:

Robert Hanssen är en FBI-agent med 25 års erfarenhet av yrket. Nu är han misstänkt för att vara en spion och förrädare. Det är då upp till Eric O’Neill att antingen styrka eller motbevisa dessa misstankar.

Ingen superhöjdare till film men kanske värd den allmänbildning filmen faktiskt innehåller, då den är baserad på en sann historia. Bortsett från själva upplägget är handlingen och skådespelarna väldigt samspelta och där finns ett par minnesvärda repliker.

Can’t trust a woman in a pants suit. Men wear the pants.
The world doesn’t need anymore Hillary Clintons.

8

Di Spike Jonze

Il piccolo Max, dopo un feroce litigio con la madre, si ritrova letteralmente in un altro mondo, popolato da strane e selvagge creature.

Non è un film per bambini ma un film sui bambini e in particolar modo su quell’età complicatissima e contraddittoria che è l’infanzia. Occhio a portarci i ragazzini: non lo capirebbero e ne uscirebbero scornati, anche più dei genitori. Tratto da una fiaba di  Maurice Sendak che non vediamo l’ora di leggere, il film del geniale Spike Jonze (Essere John  Malkovich, L’inventore di favole) è un capolavoro delicato sul difficile mondo dei ragazzini. Il punto di vista è tutto di Max, ennesimo figlio senza padre e affettivamente combattuto tra l’amore per la madre e la sorella che nella vita sembrano avere altri interessi. Scappa, il ragazzino, dopo l’ennesimo, violento litigio culminato con un morso alla madre e si ritrova in un altro mondo, popolato da creature brutte, pelose e goffissime alle quali si presenta come re e dalle quali, dopo i primi giustificati timori, si ritroverà accolto. E’ chiaro che dietro la psicologia delle creature selvagge si nascondo tanti tasselli dell’universo affettivo del ragazzino. C’è Carol, il mostro goffo che fa a pezzi la propria casa e quella degli altri per mancanza d’amore; c’è una coppia di mostri, con una lei particolarmente acida e diffidente; c’è un mostro femmina dolcissimo e materno che in uno dei momenti più commoventi del film addirittura arriverà  a “partorire” il ragazzino. Strano e bizzarro, segnato dalle continue contraddizioni di quell’età di passaggio che è l’infanzia, Jonze descrive con un realismo unico l’universo anarchico e però desideroso di regole e di abbracci dei bambini: il gioco selvaggio, la furia distruttiva, i sensi di colpa, la gelosia bruciante, la vergogna nei confronti del proprio limite. Lo fa attraverso un stile visionario e per nulla sentimentale o bamboleggiante, ricordando un altro grande film sui bambini sempre più dimenticato, Il ragazzo selvaggio di François Truffaut con il cui protagonista Max condivide lo stesso bisogno di figure adulte che possano arginare e dare ordine a quella tempesta di sentimenti spesso discordi che è il cuore di un bambino. Antidisneyano (almeno fino all’arrivo della Pixar) nel senso che nulla è censurato o annacquato nel sentimento ma tutto è profondamente realistico: il ragazzino, facendo significativamente un percorso opposto a quello di Peter Pan, torna a casa. Il mostro caldo e goffo e incompreso che sono, l’istintività anarchica che sembra definirmi non basta. Serve una casa. E serve una mamma, che ti aspetta, magari ad occhi chiusi, esausta dopo una notte alla tua ricerca. Ma che è lì ad attenderti e che non puoi fare a meno di contemplare stupito e, finalmente, in pace, come suggerisce uno dei finali più commoventi degli ultimi anni.

*Lions – Shaun Smith
*Patriots – Terdell Sands
*Colts – Ed Johnson
*Lions – Chuck Darby
*Broncos – Dewayne Robertson
*Saints – Brian Young
*Panthers – Darwin Walker
*Bengals – John Thornton
*Vikings – Ellis Wyms
*Falcons – Kindal Moorehead
*Bengals – Orien Harris
*Bears – Dusty Dvoracek
*Vikings – Kendrick Allen
*Saints – Antwan Lake
*Chiefs – T.J. Jackson
*Broncos – Josh Shaw
*Saints – James Reed
*Lions – Shemiah LeGrande
*Eagles – Dan Klecko
*Falcons – Jason Jefferson
*Raiders – William Joseph (Re-Signed)
*Bengals – Langston Moore
*Raiders – Ryan Boschetti
*Texans – Gabe Long
*Jaguars – Henry Smith
*Steelers – Kyle Clement
*Jets – Nate Robinson
*Packers – Fred Bledsoe
*Cowboys – Casey Tyler
*Jets – Anthony Harris
*Packers – Brian Soi
*Redskins – Vaka Manupana
*49ers – Babatunde Oshinowo
*Eagles – Amon Gordon
*Cowboys – Tim Anderson
*Rams – Claude Wroten
*Falcons – Tywain Myles
*Redskins – Mike Marquardt
*Seahawks – Kevin Brown
*Panthers – Lorenzo Williams
*Saints – Rod Coleman
*Packers – Dean Muhtadi
*Cowboys – Jonas Seawright
*Eagles – Willie Williams
*Cardinals – Rodney Leisle
*Seahawks – Chris Cooper
*Steelers – Scott Paxson
*Chiefs – Derek Lokey
*Jaguars – Jonathan Lewis
*Panthers – Antwon Burton
*Jaguars – Jeremy Mincey
*Panthers – Terrance Taylor
*Browns – Carlton Powell (Signed w/ Broncos Practice Squad)
*Dolphins – Derrick Jones

The Bourne Identity (2002)
Directed by Doug Liman
With Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper.

identity

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
Directed by Paul Greengrass
With Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Julia Stiles, Brian Cox.

supremacy

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Directed by Paul Greengrass
With Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn.

ultimatum

Recomiendo la trilogía completa, sin mas vueltas, una franquicia que revoluciono la forma de contar historias de espías, influyendo al propio James Bond y a muchas historias mas (Taken entre ellas) No creo que sea recomendable ver las tres de un solo tirón, pero recomiendo, por correlación de los hechos, que se vean en la misma semana, por ejemplo.

There’s a one inside of us.

Max (Max Records) imagines running away from his mom and sailing to a far-off land where large talking beasts — Ira, Carol, Douglas, the Bull, Judith and Alexander — crown him as their king, play rumpus, build forts and discover secret hideaways. Voices by Chris Cooper, James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara, and many others.

Once in a lifetime a very noble director will get a hold of a wonderful children book and really turn it into something magical, this is close to what I thought I was going to have.

I had a really hard time with this film overall. I was expecting a beautiful, exciting adventure from the out-of-this world mind from Spike Jonze. However, all the hype that the film was getting it quite didn’t live up to what I was expecting. Well, I guess adapting a movie from a 10 page book, isn’t the easiest thing to do.

The emotional depth this film goes into is perfect and really handled well in this film. There are just some really profoundly beautiful scenes that really do shine with emotion and old natural beauty. Jonze connects the character of Max to all the other Wild Things, and shows how both of their lives are both equal in every single way, and how they can both learn from one another. Jonze even goes as far as to sort of get adults thinking about these messages about childhood, and how they felt at their age as well.

The only problem I had with this film is that it just wasn’t as powerful as it could’ve been. There were so many scenes that could’ve been handled better if the right attitude was given towards it. In most of these scenes I almost thought that Jonze was going to pull off the scene and really make it memorable. However, Jonze takes another road that doesn’t seem like the best solution for it.

Another problem I had with this film was that although there is a lot of kid-friendly elements to this film, I don’t think that kids will quite have a ball with this film. This movie is more about the message of Max, and most kids won’t look at this. They’ll look at the Wild Things and how scary they look, and the little fun montages, not necessarily the message that Jonze was really going for here.

The little things of this film we’re really good add-ons however. I liked the soundtrack with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and I thought all of those songs really did connect to the mood of each scene. The visuals that combine the elements of people in costumes, CGI, and animations. They look real and actually could get a nomination cause of how spectacular they look.

Max Records, who plays little Max does a good job at showing some future star quality. Though he can be a little annoying at some points, I really did feel like he was one of the more realistic protagonists in a film in a long time. The voices in this film are good as well, but the best has got to be James Gandolfini as Carol. He really does give the emotion that is needed to play this character and overall has a more effective job than any other of the Wild Things.

The ending that most of you all know from the book, is not as emotionally-charged as you would think. I left the film with a very bad taste cause of the ending, because overall it was just a lame ending for a very powerful movie.

Consensus: Spike Jonze, doesn’t deliver on every spectrum, but does create a very true, emotionally-powerful fable about what it’s really like as a child and the kind’s of turmoil they face at such a young age.

8/10=Matinee!!!

• HARLEY PEYTON is set to write JULIET (Universal). Hearing studio can’t officially hire until January. JAMES MANGOLD is producing.
• Studio has offers out to SIGOURNEY WEAVER, JEFFREY WRIGHT, and CHRIS COOPER for roles in CEDAR RAPIDS. This project is set up at Fox Searchlight and was written by PHIL JOHNSTON. ALEXANDER PAYNE is producing. MIGUEL ARTETA is directing.
• RICHARD LINKLATER is off LIARS A-E that is set up at Miramax with Scott Rudin producing. PETE SOLLET is interested in directing.
• Studio is activating the UNTITLED LES GROSSMAN PROJECT (Paramount), an”original story” centered on TOM CRUISES’s character in TROPIC THUNDER. Tom has expressed interest in wanting to reprise the role and they are starting to talk to writers.
• FLORIAN HENCKEL VON DONNERSMARCK and JUAN CARLOS FRESNADILLO have offers to direct ANABASIS (Sony). JIMMY MILLER, JONATHAN & ROBBIE STAMP are producing. ROBERT SCHENKKAN adapted based on Xenophon’s eyewitness account of the expedition of the Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries who fought under Cyrus.
• J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI is writting SHATTERED UNION  for Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney.
• Mike Newell is in talks to direct remake ARTHUR (Warner Brothers).CHRIS BENDER, LARRY BREZNER, and KEVIN MCCORMICK are attached to produce. PETER BAYNHAM wrote the most recent draft based on the 1981 ARTHUR movie directed by STEVEN GORDON.
• Hearing: REESE WITHERSPOON is making a deal for the remake of THE ORPHANAGE (New Line). Contra is producing and they are looking for a new director. LARRY FESSENDEN was previously attached to direct. He wrote the script with GUILLERMO DEL TORO.
• GAVIN HOOD will direct THE CRUELEST MILES (Walden). MARK JOHNSON is producing.  O’KEEFE & STAPLES wrote the last draft.
• MIKE NEWELL will direct LENINGRAD (Warner Brothers), written by GIUSEPPE TORNATORE. GK Films is producing.
• GARY ROSS will rewrite and direct MATT HELM (Paramount).
• KATHERINE FUGATE will adapt WHAT ALICE FORGOT (Fox 2000).
• KURTZMAN & ORCI will direct THE 28TH AMMENDMENT (Warner Brothers).
• STEVEN KNIGHT is set to write THE THIRD MAN remake for TOBEY MAGUIRE and LEO DICAPRIO.  Canal Plus holds the rights.  It could go to Sony or Warner Brothers.
• MARC WEBB fell off THE SPECTACULAR NOW (Fox Searchlight). 21 Laps is producing. A draft is in and are going to move forward without Marc.

Even a Wild Thing needs a chilldown after a wild rumpus.

(Warner Brothers) Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini (voice), Catherine O’Hara (voice), Forrest Whitaker (voice), Lauren Ambrose (voice), Chris Cooper (voice), Mark Ruffalo, Paul Dano (voice), Pepita Emmerichs. Directed by Spike Jonze

In all of us there is a wild side. It is the side that defies authority, the part of us that breaks the rules and the part of us that acts out when we don’t get what we want. It is the part in us that is closest to the child in us, so it is no surprise that children are more cognizant of their wild thing than we are.

Max (Records) is a young boy being raised by a single mother (Keener) who is too busy working to have the time for him he would like her to have. He doesn’t have many friends, and his sister (Emmerichs) is older, moving into teenager things and having even less time than his mom does.

He has a vivid imagination, turning a snowdrift into an igloo and old toilet paper dispensers into fantastic skyscrapers. However, he has had difficulty adjusting to a life without his dad and when his mom starts dating a new boyfriend (Ruffalo) he has a nuclear meltdown and runs away.

He finds a small boat and navigates it out to see. After a day and a night he arrives at a strange island with a rocky shoreline as dusk is falling. He is attracted by flickering torches and is startled to discover a group of strange, shaggy creatures, one of whom is in the process of destroying their huts. His name is Carol (Gandolfini) and he is distraught because one of their number has left the family. Max reveals himself and Carol takes to him immediately as a kindred spirit.

Not all the others are so welcoming. Judith (O’Hara) is described as a bit of a downer, and that’s accurate enough – she is suspicious of Max and wants to eat him. However, when Max reveals himself to be a king in his own country, the others (even Judith) relents and accept Max as their new king, the Wild Things being without a king at the time. Max declares a wild rumpus and the commotion attracts the attention of KW (Ambrose) who also instantly takes a liking to Max. Max, for his part, has found the family he’s always wanted.

That family also includes Ira (Whitaker), a gentle giant who is in love with Judith and is also nearly as fond of making holes in things; Douglas (Cooper), Carol’s best friend and right hand, Alexander (Dano) who is consistently ignored by the others and the Bull, who mostly communicates in grunts. Max decides to have them build a fort where only the things they want to have happen occur. He gets the idea when Carol shows him his secret spot on the island where he has built a model city out of twigs, complete with canals and figures of his family members.

At first building the fort gives them purpose but as time goes on Max begins to realize that being King of the Wild Things isn’t as easy as it first appeared and that his more aggressive nature was causing some of his new family pain.

There is no doubt that Spike Jonze has an incredible imagination, and he may well have been the perfect choice to bring the classic children’s story by Maurice Sendak to life. Visually, this is very imaginative, unlike any movie you’ve ever seen. The faces of the Wild Things are amazing, CGI representations of the actors who are voicing them given a Wild Thing treatment. These CGI faces are then digitally inserted onto actors wearing oversized costumes, creating a natural movement that no computer could have replicated.

Records is a pretty decent actor as children go in a part that is not a typical kids part. For one thing, Max doesn’t have all the answers – in fact, he has far more questions than answers. He isn’t smarter than the grown-ups around him and he doesn’t save the day. Basically, he’s an unruly boy with emotional issues.

Therein lies my problem with the movie. Max is never accountable for his actions; when he bites his mother, she screams at him that he’s out of control and he screams back that it isn’t his fault. Well, whose fault is it then?

More egregiously, the movie diverges from the book on some key points. Now, while I’m usually fine about movies being different from the books they’re based on, one of the key elements of Where the Wild Things Are (the book) is that it all takes place inside Max’s room, literally inside his head. Here, the Wild Thing Island is literally an island that Max travels to.

The ending of the movie isn’t terribly realistic either. When Max arrives home after (presumably) running away for several days, his mother greets him with dinner and chocolate cake for desert. I don’t know about your mom but mine would have hugged me and then killed me had I run away like that.

This is such a visually arresting movie that it’s worth seeing just on that basis. There are some terrific performances, particularly from Gandolfini who captures the blustery Carol’s mood swings and inner pain. I do have a problem with the movie’s message, which seems to be that it is okay to give in to the Wild Thing inside and there will be no consequences, no repercussions. Lots of kids will be seeing this and get the message that acting out is ok, whether that’s the message the filmmakers (and Sendak) wanted to send or not.

We all have wild things inside of us. It is a part of us, as is the part that is responsible and caring for each other. The Wild Things tend to be the side of us that is selfish and undisciplined, necessary for our creative sides to come out but at the end of the day, merely a component of our psyches. Sendak always meant the Wild Things of his book to be elements of Max’ personality, and they are here as well; the important thing is that the Wild Things are not the Only Things. As for the movie, it’s flawed but I applaud the effort, the imagination and the visual sense. It’s certainly worth your attention.

REASONS TO GO: Jonze amazing visual sense makes this a treat for the imagination. It is, after all, the filmed version of one of the most beloved children’s books of all time.

REASONS TO STAY: The movie veers away from the book in some significant ways. Max is so troubled that at times it’s hard to watch him act out. There are almost no lessons in accountability and the ending is far more of a fantasy than the rest of the movie.

FAMILY VALUES: A little bit of language and violence, as well as some kid-in-jeopardy scenes but all in all suitable for the entire family.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The original songs in the movie were written and performed by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who was dating Jonze at the time of the production. They’ve since broken up.

HOME OR THEATER: This should be seen on the big screen, no question.

FINAL RATING: 6/10

TOMORROW: Six Days of Darkness begins!

.

Where the Wild Things Are es la última peli de Spike Jonze y la estrena este año. Está basada en la novela gráfica del mismo nombre de Maurice Sendak.

Cuando ví por primera vez el afiche me referí muy rápido a los cortos de la peli y sentí una extraña familiaridad, quise verla desde ese primer instante.

Ahora que escribo esta entrada para referir ese mismo corto, busqué el libro de Sendak y me parece que lo ojeé cuando niño pero no lo tengo muy claro lo cual me llena de una absurda ansiedad.

El reparto está de lujo y Jonze nunca decepciona. Recomendadísima.

Max Records (Max)

Pepita Emmerichs (Claire)

Catherine Keener (Mamá)

Mark Ruffalo (Novio de la mamá)

James Gandolfini (Carol)

Paul Dano (Alexander)

Catherine O’Hara (Judith)

Forest Whitaker (Ira)

Chris Cooper (Douglas)

Samuel L. Jackson doing more upstaging than ever.

When two white men brutally rape a young black girl in a small Mississippi town, the child’s vengeful father (Samuel L. Jackson) fears their acquittal and takes the law into his own hands. But as his trial date approaches, all hell breaks loose. Aided by lawyer Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) and his spunky legal assistant (Sandra Bullock), the father fights to stay out of prison and salve his daughter’s terrible memories.

A Time To Kill introduces some obvious material and introduces characters we have all seen before. But instead the movie has the way of taking the ordinary and spinning these characters into a very believable story and characters.

Much of the story seems like a typical courtroom drama but doesn’t fall too short for the courtroom cliches. The screenplay is very witty and smart and does fully capture the essence and the feel of John Grisham’s novel. I also did enjoy how I could feel the tension that lied in between the town, between the KKK and the African Americans. It felt real and with almost every scene there was something always new to reignite this feud and it added more of a feel.

The performances turn this film around for the best. Matthew McConaughey, plays probably one his best roles that have could’ve been laughable, but is very believable with his utterly strong but sane performance. Samuel L. Jackson upstages everyone in this film and plays a different person. He’s not the tough S.O.B you knew him in all his others, he’s actually kind and does feel regret towards his actions and were able to feel his emotion coming through his performance.

By the end of the film though it started to feel like this film was a little too cornball. Matthew’s speech by the end of the film felt too forced and very obvious along with the end result which feels like it was not very believable.

The story is a theme on the great separation between whites and blacks, and I felt like this was brought out very well if it weren’t for some of the clan scenes. I did like their feud I just didn’t feel it was too needed to create a huge feud and the extra violence was put in just to be put in.

Consensus: The strong and convincing performances, along with a clever script make this film good but at times falls for the obvious cliches all courtroom dramas have.

7/10=Rentall!!!

Data
Title: Where the Wild Things Are
Year: 2009
Length: 101 minutes
Director: Spike Jonze
Writers: Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers, based on the book by Maurice Sendak
Starring: Max Records, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, Chris Cooper, Lauren Ambrose
Music: Karen O., Carter Burwell

My reaction
Synopsis: a boy goes to an island of emotional monsters
How I saw it: in the theater, today
Concept: Great.
Story: Good. I hesitate to take points off here. The story is exactly what it should be. The movie’s about characters, not about What’s Going to Happen Next, and it does what it does perfectly.  It’s interesting that, apparently, the younger you are, the more you’ll like it.  Old people turned off by the idea a children’s movie that you need to engage with?
Characters: Great.
Dialog: Great.
Pacing: Great. I keep reading that it’s slow, even from people who like it. I don’t know what movie they were watching.
Cinematography: Great.
Special effects/design: Great.
Acting: Great. Records gives one of the best performances I’ve seen in a long time.
Music: Great. Perfect fit for the movie, but the soundtrack also happens to be a future indie rock classic.
Subjective Rating: 10/10 (Favorite of my favorites). Beautiful and intense. Really f***ing intense.
Objective Rating: 10/10 (Great).

What a magical movie this is. Hardly a surprise, considering the pedigree of the people involved (the director of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.), but it’s a rare things when a literary masterpiece the likes of this is adapted in such a way that nothing is dumbed down or cut through corners. Going above and beyond its source material, Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are is as fantastically entertaining as it is moody and emotionally draining, the results of the director’s unrelenting vision of a boy dealing with his inner demons in the company of some bigger ones.

I hardly need to relay the story, but I’ll do it anyway. Max is a precocious, imaginative and needy young boy growing up with a sister growing away from him and a single mother (Keener) trying to grow back into the dating world. One night, after feeling betrayed by both of the women in his life, Max flees the house, races through the neighborhood to a shoreline, finds a conveniently placed rowboat and sets off. This, however, is where the narrative comes into its own. Max finds one of the Wild Things, Carol (James Gandolfini), arguing with the rest and decimating his own village. Max seizes the opportunity (and saves himself from consumption) by proclaiming himself to be their king with magical powers that will restore harmony to the group and clear away all the “sadness”. He leads them in a “wild rumpus” and, inspired by Carol’s own miniature model of his ideal island, decides to build a giant fort capable of any project they want (“it will have a big swimming pool with a trampoline on the bottom”). For awhile it’s looking good and Max grows close to Carol, but when KW (Lauren Ambrose) tries to include her owl friends Bob and Terry into the group, Carol gets upset and brings everyone down. Max tries to organize a “dirt-clod fight” to unite everyone, but another of the Wild Things (Paul Dano) actually gets hurt, causing more arguments and eventually bringing about Max’s fall from the throne. His lack of powers severely hurts his relationship with Carol, who starts to get dangerous and scary (shouting the famous line, “I’ll eat you up!) and who even rips off the arm of his right-hand man (Chris Cooper) for talking back to him. Max then has to decide whether to stay and straighten things out, or sail back to his mother and his supper “still hot”.

"Block that sandstorm for me, alright?"

I found many parallels between this film and The Wizard of Oz, the greatest fantasy film of all-time. However, it was told as if from the point-of-view of the Wizard, not Dorothy. The rowboat carries Max to the island, much like the hot air balloon, where he is greeted in awe by characters largely in need of leadership. In this way the Wild Things become very dangerous Munchkins, and the way Carol doesn’t exactly get to say good-bye to Max is very reminiscent of Dorothy’s frantic pleadings for the Wizard to “come back! come back!” Also, they both feature characters in the new reality that resemble those of the previous one, although with Max’s friends they are more Freudian personifications of his own psyche than fun-loving versions of his friends. KW is an amalgamation of Max’s mother and sister (complete with friends that Max can’t understand but KW likes and wants them all to welcome), and Carol is Max’s more child-like facets (he can be alternately constructive or destructive, but is always very jealous and defiant of blame). The others must translate as well, but I feel it would take another article just for that.

For now, I’ll just say that the production value is so impressive. Spike Jonze knew exactly what he was doing every step of the way and refused to compromise, both in the script (the dialogue is full of absurdities and little kid logic: “what if cracks open up? then I have a re-cracker that goes right through it!”) and in his spellbinding direction. The use of CGI, live-action, suitmation and animatronics made it almost hard to tell whether the Wild Things were alive or not. There was such a bewitching power behind each element, from the very big and sudden (Max and Carol see a giant dog in the background) to the small and subtle (Carol’s wet nose sparkling in the firelight). The aptly-named Max Records plays the difficult role of the boy, seeming alternately playful and immature, but never bratty. Catherine Keener is moving as the patient mother trying to juggle her family and her new boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo, in a small part; interestingly enough, Records played the younger version of Ruffalo in The Brothers Bloom, so Max is basically jealous of his older self!). And of course, the voice cast is astounding. Catherine O’Hara (The Nightmare Before Christmas) is the only one with much experience in this style of acting, but the rest perform very admirably (particularly Gandolfini, using the more juvenile aspects of  his character on The Sopranos but still moving away from that genre).

A lot of critics have denounced the film as much too dark for most children, which I partially agree with (if only for Carol gnashing his teeth in his sleep). But both Jonze and Sendak have been unapologetic in their publicity statements, with Sendak telling those parents who dislike it to “go to hell”. Personally I’m proud of them and Warner Bros. (who delayed the film a year so that Jonze would have enough money to put his creative conception onto the screen perfectly) for sticking to their guns and not scrapping the project entirely, like many thought they would. I also think it’s even better than I expected it to be; as long as you don’t go into it thinking it’ll be another Who Framed Roger Rabbit or something, you’ll love it. I award Where the Wild Things Are a much-deserved 4 1/2 stars; by never knuckling under the pressure, Spike Jonze has created a sumptuous masterpiece for the ages, and a fantasy world I will never forget.

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is one of the most loved children’s books of all time. Many in the fi lm industry considered it “unadaptable to the big screen” but the fi lm adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze, was a feast for my adult brain and a flashback to my childhood.

The text of the book is only nine sentences long so turning it into a movie was totally different than adapting something like the latest from Dan Brown or Harry Potter. Like the book, the movie is out of the ordinary, but in a different way. The movie is made for a more mature audience than the book, but it stays true to its roots.

Sendak, one of the producers of the film, personally chose Spike Jonze to direct the fi lm after watching Being John Malkovich. The author/producer felt that Jonze could “connect with his original vision for the fi lm adaptation”. Sendak was right to put his trust in Jonze. Sendak says his books are “all variations on the same theme: how children master various feelings”. Sitting in the theater felt like reconnecting with the experiences I had as a child (the book was one of personal favourites from back in the day). The movie discusses important issues of family, belonging, anger, and companionship. The balancing act of appealing to both young and old puts strain on the fi lm but in the end it was profoundly moving and thought provoking.

Although the movie feels like its for an older audience it stays true to its child at heart roots. The monsters are scary but real and the way they interact and learn is what puts a whole other layer on the movie. Book reviewer Francis Spufford described the book as “one of the very few picture books to make and entirely deliberate and beautiful, use of the psychoanalytic story of anger.” The movie encapsulates this use.

The most striking theme of the movie was family. In the book the focus is more on tribes but as one reads more about the original book one begins to understand Sendak’s familial theme. The original concept for the book featured horses instead of monsters. Sendak could not draw horses, so he used caricatures of his aunts and uncles, whom he had studied critically in his youth as an escape from their weekly visits to his family’s Brooklyn home. For the opera version Sendak gave the monsters the names of his relatives: Tzippy, Moishe, Aaron, Emile, and Bernard. In the movie their names are different.

The soundtrack was the one disappointing part for me. It felt intrusive on some moments where the feelings from the scenes didn’t match the jarring music playing in the background.

The movie was truly different and does deserve the unprecedented hype it has received. I highly recommend it, especially if you have read the book to a child or as a child.

Where the Wild Things Are stars Max Records as ‘Max’, Catherine Keener as his mother, while James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Dano and Forest Whitaker provide the voices of the Wild Things. The screenplay was adapted by Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers.

-Kemp Edmonds (BCIT Alumni)