Click here for a zip file containing all the images from this post. If the thumbnails below don’t load, click here for an index.

You can listen to us discussing these films at length on the podcast on the show, but please do check out the list below for perpetuity. Sam’s list is annotated and included below, Tom’s is not annotated and its right here. This just means you will have to check out the podcast to hear Tom’s viewpoints. So check out Sam’s choices after the jump, along with a few choice thoughts and honourable mentions. Enjoy!

10. Fish Tank

Andrea Arnold’s excellent second film is not quite the match of the stunning Red Road, but the performance from Katie Jarvis and the touch of the director in the interpersonal scenes elevates this to somewhere that the script doesn’t quite merit, notably given the slight overcooking towards the end. Some amazing scenes, however, and some beautifully constructed and openly-interpretive moments between characters make this nigh-on unmissable.

9. Star Trek

Easily the best blockbuster of 2009, this film is not far off perfect, outside of the terrible scene involving the original Spock. Delete that and you have an indecently entertaining film with, perhaps, the best ensemble cast of the year. The character moments, especially those involving Chris Pine’s Kirk and Karl Urban’s McCoy, are charming and packed with charisma and comedy. Unexpectedly, a Star Trek movie was the most accessible and entertaining action film of the year.

8. Up

Though it’s somewhat messy for the most part, the first ten minutes of this film are enough to give it a solid top ten spot. The ‘life’ sequence at the start, wordless and annotated only by music and tiny personal moments, is completely breathtaking but the rest is a rag-tag road movie with a terrific sense of adventure, just a slight lack of focus. The character moments are sweet and touching, the story itself, focusing on the Pixar-favoured topic of fatherhood, is perfectly pitched and the animation, and imagination involved in that, is wonderful. Forgetting Cars, will they ever truly misstep?

7. Let the Right One In

A very Swedish take on the vampire movie, this was another driven by likeable characters and a sweet romance, but oh so much more bite and existential interest than that other abominable vampire movie. The performances from the two child leads are perfect, but the best thing here is Alfredson’s filmmaking, his camera retaining a stillness throughout which mean that the explosions of violence and disturbing themes are allowed to breathe enough to get under the skin of the audience.

6. Funny People

I wasn’t completely alone in loving this film, but I might be completely alone in loving the film as much as I did. Adam Sandler gives a great performance in this sprawling, hyper-personal exploration of comedy by Judd Apatow. Sandler’s character seems oddly close to his own life, which Apatow is intimately familiar with, and is used to examine the psychological make-up of comedians and the mindset they hold which prevents them from truly connecting. It’s not about all comedians per se, but it explores that mindset held by those who need to keep misanthropy a part of their act. Beyond that, the character interplay is perfect and there are just plenty of fascinating, emotionally open scenes. It’s Apatow’s passion project and, for whatever reason, I just connected completely.

5. Fantastic Mr Fox

Unexpectedly, a huge return to form from Wes Anderson. Ostensibly taking Roald Dahl’s tale as a starting point, Anderson imprints his own style on the source material without losing the overall spirit of the original. The voice performances are perfect, especially the great Jason Schwartzmann, but the star of the show is Anderson’s directorial choice-making. Plenty of great jokes and, in the stop-motion, the best choice he has made in his whole career, completely suited to his minutiae-fetishism on one level and just so aesthetically-pleasing on another. It’s also the first of his films since Rushmore where he seems to genuinely like his characters, a difference which is so important in how much love you can build up for the film.

4. Synecdoche, New York

I love achingly personal filmmaking and this, from the cavernous mind of Charlie Kaufman as both writer and director, is self-examination to the point of borderline insanity. The film drives from meta level to meta level, getting further and further lost inside itself but never, for me, losing the neurosis at its centre: the need to be remembered for something great. It evokes the madness of attempting to create great art, the subjectivity of the world which prevents this from ever being truly possible and the intense need and desire to achieve something, whatever it may be, before death.

3. Where the Wild Things Are

A mad mess of ideas and inspiration, Spike Jonze proved himself once more to wholly understand the spirit of his story, creating a narrative which takes Maurice Sendak’s book and expands it into a swirling, mad imagination picture. It captures the moment when children begin the journey to adulthood, when they realise that they are no longer the centre of the world and have to compromise to the needs of others. Max may well be a disturbed and troubled young child, but I think the feelings and thoughts that he has just capture those that most children would have at that age in his situation, just more vividly than may would perhaps have liked. It’s slightly self-indulgent in places, but it evokes and engages with childhood in ways that modern movies simply never even try. All that and the soundtrack is the absolute best of the whole year.

2. The Wrestler

Low-key and often too close to stereotype in the script, this is a film elevated an enormous amount by the amazing performances, direction and cinematography. Aronofsky shifted away from the insane ambition of The Fountain to deliver and measured, appropriate directing job to prove his versatility, Marise Alberti’s cinematography captures the cold isolation of the characters and the supporting players, notably the ever-brilliant Marisa Tomei, are superb. But, come on, the star of the show is Mickey Rourke. His performance goes somewhere beyond acting onto a meta level that suggests this will be a once-in-a-lifetime role. If that’s the case, he took his chance with both hands and booked his place back amongst the greats after all those year’s in the wilderness.

1. The Hurt Locker

Iraq filmmaking has proved itself a difficult art. The shift has gone from those explicitly exploring the experience of soldiers with a heavy political stance to those exploring the soldiers coming home with a heavy political stance. None of them have been absolutely awful (outside of Redacted and Stop-Loss) but none have managed to explicitly understand the experience of soldiers from an entirely apolitical viewpoint. The Hurt Locker is not only the most exciting, tense film of the year, but it’s understanding of the psychology of the soldier, and its focus upon this, captures what is actually important about Iraq. This was Jarhead with a boatload of action and without the showy visuals, though the visual style here is gripping. Kathryn Bigelow should and hopefully will win the director Oscar this year, not just for the construction of scenes and her understanding of space, but for her focus on the relationship between the lead characters and subsequently their relationship to the warzone. Emotionally and physically, this is a breathless film.

Honourable Mentions

District 9 – Thrilling allegorical sci-fi, only let down by reliance on genre traits.

Milk – Stately and finely-tuned biopic, excellent acting, slightly ponderous in some places.

Slumdog Millionaire – Overrated undoubtedly but still extremely entertaining and sweet. Superb direction.

(500) Days of Summer – Arrival of a talent in Marc Webb and career-best performance from Zooey Deschanel.

Moon – Lovely, charming sci-fi with immense central performance and best performance by Kevin Spacey in years.

Zombieland – Hugely fun and rollicking zombie ride.

Rachel Getting Married – Career-maker for Anne Hathaway, only dips because of hyper-long wedding sequence.

Bronson – Tom Hardy’s performance dominates but Winding Refn’s work is, as always, bracing.

In the Loop – Satire at its highest, only let down because it never quite reaches the Strangelove-ian heights it’s going for.

Anvil: The Story of Anvil – Heartfelt, sweet hair metal homosocial love story.

Doubt – ACTING! And more ACTING!! Stagey at times but otherwise nye-on perfectly judged.

Drag Me to Hell – Raimi returns to horror with fun, cheeky ride with great horror performance from Alison Lohman.

A Serious Man – Obtuse, uber-Coen exploration of Book of Job. For fans only, maybe. If you’re a fan though, world class.

Where the Wild Things Are finally makes it to our screens to slightly-divide Sam and Tommy in their admiration. The gents follow this with a chat about PTA meeting PSH for a Scientology examination and round up a host of 2010 summer blockbuster trailers with disappointed and sometimes surprising results. They continue on to chat a little about The Inbetweeners, Punch-Drunk Love and the lamentable Twister, before getting into the spirit of New Years and new beginnings with a list of five resolutions for the coming twelve months.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 46

Where the Wild Things Are finally makes it to our screens to slightly-divide Sam and Tommy in their admiration. The gents follow this with a chat about PTA meeting PSH for a Scientology examination and round up a host of 2010 summer blockbuster trailers with disappointed and sometimes surprising results. They continue on to chat a little about The Inbetweeners, Punch-Drunk Love and the lamentable Twister, before getting into the spirit of New Years and new beginnings with a list of five resolutions for the coming twelve months.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 46

Email us at the address on the left and tweet as much as you want from the link underneath the email. Merry Christmas, folks!

Where the Wild Things Are finally makes it to our screens to slightly-divide Sam and Tommy in their admiration. The gents follow this with a chat about PTA meeting PSH for a Scientology examination and round up a host of 2010 summer blockbuster trailers with disappointed and sometimes surprising results. They continue on to chat a little about The Inbetweeners, Punch-Drunk Love and the lamentable Twister, before getting into the spirit of New Years and new beginnings with a list of five resolutions for the coming twelve months.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 46

Email us at the address on the left and tweet as much as you want from the link underneath the email. Merry Christmas, folks!

Where the Wild Things Are finally makes it to our screens to slightly-divide Sam and Tommy in their admiration. The gents follow this with a chat about PTA meeting PSH for a Scientology examination and round up a host of 2010 summer blockbuster trailers with disappointed and sometimes surprising results. They continue on to chat a little about The Inbetweeners, Punch-Drunk Love and the lamentable Twister, before getting into the spirit of New Years and new beginnings with a list of five resolutions for the coming twelve months.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 46

Email us at the address on the left and tweet at us as much as you can from right here.

Where the Wild Things Are finally makes it to our screens to slightly-divide Sam and Tommy in their admiration. The gents follow this with a chat about PTA meeting PSH for a Scientology examination and round up a host of 2010 summer blockbuster trailers with disappointed and sometimes surprising results. They continue on to chat a little about The Inbetweeners, Punch-Drunk Love and the lamentable Twister, before getting into the spirit of New Years and new beginnings with a list of five resolutions for the coming twelve months.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 46

Email us at the address on the left and tweet at us as much as you can from right here.

Where the Wild Things Are is an American fantasy film which was directed by Spike Jonze and was adapted from the well-known children’s book by Maurice Sendak in 1963. The film is a mixture of live action, costumes, animatronics, CGI and puppets. The film stars Max Records, Catherine Keener and Mark Ruffalo. It also features various voices as the parts of the beasts- James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Lauren Ambrose and Forest Whitaker. The film is produced by Tom Hanks.

The film is about a young boy called Max who is very lonely and has a wild imagination. He gets angry with his mum and bites her. He then runs off and he travels to a world where he meets a wild bunch of beasts and creatures.

I read this book when i was little so i was very excited to see this film. I feel that the film captures the style and imagination of the novel really well. It’s very imaginative, loving, warm, playful but also it keeps the slightly dark element that was in the original book. There have been questions about whether this film is suitable for children- I think that it is. It gives out a positive message and focuses on the values of friendship and family.

Overall i really loved this film- it has excellent performances from the actors, its funny at times and its beautifully filmed. The CGI and real live action blends together very well and is very convincing,

a feel good film

Film Rating: 8/10

[Click here for a guide to Booze Revooze and the rating system used]

i saw Where The Wild Things Are with the director, Spike Jonze, and the lead kid, Max Records:

From the juiced-box and the OST: Karen O and the Kids – Rumpus

[Press 'Play' to...

Let The Wild Rumpus Start

Final Proof: 4 Shots

You know sometimes you drink alone? When it's that time of night, when the music is just right and you're as low as the lights the reminiscences visit like familiar ghosts who want to know if you can come out, come out, wherever you are. You chain smoke your cigarettes and play hide and seek with your soul, feeling around the hole where your innocence lived before you lost it, and it aches like a cowboy & indians war wound that throbs when the rain goes away or comes again another day. Then, for a moment as fleeting as a lunch box dessert, you are young again with all of the fierce goodness, the ripe immaturity, the painful joy of childhood. Until suddenly it's gone, like a birthday candle in a hurricane. That's what Where The Wild Things Are is like.

Where The Wild Things Are is a beautiful movie.

i gotta give credit to Spike Jonze and David Eggers for pulling off the screenplay as well as they did. There are feelings the book only hints at and when you see them onscreen, you understand things maybe Maurice Sendak didn't even see himself. i get this movie in a profound way. i felt what Spike Jonze meant. Where The Wild Things Are is a movie that reaches out and touches you in ways you forgot you could feel.

Here, i'm tempted to go into detail about the symbolism and the message and the characters but that isn't important at all. What is is important is that i can take my twelve-year-old to see this and she won't 'understand' everything that i did but she'll sense it and probably know what's going on even better than i do. Because Where The Wild Things Are is a treat for everyone to appreciate.

Thank you, Spike.

Buzz Kills (Watch Out for Spoilers)

Sex: 0 Shots

Unless you have a fetish for big fat hairy men and women, there's no sex here. No big surprise when you consider this was based on a freakin' kids' book. So, am i gonna leave you high and dry? You know me better than that.

To begin with, Catherine Keener is in this movie. i think i first noticed her in 40 Year Old Virgin and found her very attractive. Then, while not a sexy role, she rocked as a hippy Alex Supertramp meets on the road in Into The Wild. Anyway, she's got the coolest voice, like smoke over a razor blade, just on the right edge of raspy, and  i'll give you a shot on the house if you can name any woman hotter than her at age 50 (!). The proof is in my pudding:

And then we get Lauren Ambrose who is a 'wild thing'.

Lauren Ambrose - Wild Thing

From The juiced-box, and you gotta press ‘Play’ before i let you look at the shots:

Drink: 0 Shots

Mom (Catherine Keener) and Boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) share a bottle of red wine before dinner. It may not sound like much but remember, it’s more than Twilight 2: New Moon.

Homegrown Photo

Rock & Roll: 2 Shots

Ok, what we got here isn’t really rock but still, it’s acoustic that can approach rowdy at times. i think the thing i like best about it is that Karen O and the Kids’ soundtrack sniffs that same line that runs between kid stuff and adult stuff that the movie does.

Boring Technical Crap

Written by:

Maurice Sendak (book)

Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers (screenplay)

Directed by: Spike Jonze

Starring

Max Records – Max

Catherine Keener – Mom

Lauren Ambrose – KW

Bottom Line

See it and then see it again.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE opening 11th of December at S.G.C. DUNGARVAN.

Synopsis: Innovative director Spike Jonze collaborates with celebrated author Maurice Sendak to bring one of the most beloved books of all time to the big screen in “Where the Wild Things Are,” a classic story about childhood and the places we go to figure out the world we live in. The film 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: Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, Mark Ruffalo, Catherine Keener, Catherine O’Hara, Max Records, Lauren Ambrose, James Gandolfini, Chris Cooper

Director: Spike Jonze

- John David

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE opening 11th of December at MAYO MOVIE WORLD CINEMA .

Synopsis: Innovative director Spike Jonze collaborates with celebrated author Maurice Sendak to bring one of the most beloved books of all time to the big screen in “Where the Wild Things Are,” a classic story about childhood and the places we go to figure out the world we live in. The film 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: Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, Mark Ruffalo, Catherine Keener, Catherine O’Hara, Max Records, Lauren Ambrose, James Gandolfini, Chris Cooper

Director: Spike Jonze

- John David

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE opening 11th of December at S.G.C. ENNISCORTHY.

Synopsis: Innovative director Spike Jonze collaborates with celebrated author Maurice Sendak to bring one of the most beloved books of all time to the big screen in “Where the Wild Things Are,” a classic story about childhood and the places we go to figure out the world we live in. The film 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: Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker, Mark Ruffalo, Catherine Keener, Catherine O’Hara, Max Records, Lauren Ambrose, James Gandolfini, Chris Cooper

Director: Spike Jonze

- John David

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!

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)

Πριν ξεκινησω τα πρώτα επισόδεια του πρώτου κύκλου της σειράς, έβλεπα σειρές σαν το Grey’s Anatomy και το Desperate Housewives σαν το καλύτερο τηλεοπτικό υλικό που έχει να δείξει η τηλεόραση σήμερα. Γρήγορα άλλαξα γνώμη μετά από την παρακολούθηση λίγων μόνο επεισοδίων της εξαιρετικής σειράς Six Feet Under. Νομίζω είναι πολύ κρίμα που δεν την έβλεπα όταν προβαλλόταν και στην τηλεόραση αλλά κάλλιο αργά παρά ποτέ (δεν λένε?)!

Το κεντρικό θέμα της σειράς είναι γενικά ο θάνατος, πως τον αντιμετωπίζουμε στην γη και πως υποκρίνονται ότι δεν υπάρχει στην Αμερική. Ένα τέτοιο θέμα για σειρά φυσικά δύσκολα θα έπαιρνε το πράσινο φως για την προβολή, όμως ευτυχώς υπάρχει και η καλωδιακή τηλεόραση εκεί και φτιάχνουν και τίποτα παραπάνω από καλό. Με τις καλύτερες προδιαγραφές σε cast (Michael C. Hall [ο σημερινός "Ντέξτερ"], Peter Krauss, Frances Conroy και φυσικά Lauren Ambrose), δημιουργό (Alan Ball [ο δημιουργος του American Beauty και του True Blood]), σκηνοθέτες (συνήθως έναν διαφορετικό ανά επεισόδιο) και ένα κεντρικό θέμα που δύσκολα απασχολεί την τηλεόραση, δημιουργήθηκε ένα σίριαλ που ανέβασε τον πήχη ΠΟΛΥ ψηλά. Η σειρά παίχτηκε και στην Ελλάδα (περιέργως) από το Star Channel (ποιο αλλο?) υπό τον ανέμπνευστο τίτλο “Γραφείο Τελετών Φίσερ”.

Η σειρά διαδραματίζεται στην Αμερική και αφορά μια οικογένεια που τα τελευταια 35 χρόνια λειτουργεί ένα γραφείο τελετών. Ο πατέρας (Nathaniel Sr. Fischer) πεθαίνει από το πρώτο επεισόδιο, και εκεί είναι βασικά που ξεκινά όλη η ιστορία, η μητέρα (Ruth) είναι ένα control freak, ο μεγαλύτερος γιος (Nate) είναι αυτος που ειχε δραπευτεύσει από την φρικαλέα κατάσταση που λέγεται Οικογένεια και ζούσε στο Seattle μέχρι που ξέμεινε στο σπίτι που μεγάλωσε μετά την κηδεία αφού ο πατέρας του αφήνει και στους 2 γιους του το γραφείο κηδειών. Ο δεύτερος γιος (David) είναι αφιερωμένος στην δουλειά από μικρό παιδί και κρυφά ομοφυλόφιλος (μοιαζει τρομακτικα στη μαμα του παρ’ολο που η ιδια εχει αδυναμια στον πρωτοτοκο) και τελευταια (και καλυτερη) η μικρή κόρη (Claire), ένα 17χρονο freak που μισεί τους πάντες και τα πάντα.

Θεωρητικά εγώ θα έπρεπε να είχα αδυναμία στον David και να τον ξεχώριζα όμως από τις πρώτες κιόλας σκηνές ήμουν σίγουρος ότι θα αγαπησω περισσότερο από όλους την Claire. Δεν είχα άδικο γιατι επί 5 σεζόν που κράτησε η σειρά η Claire ήταν ο εαυτός μου σε γυναικείο ρόλο. Η Lauren Ambrose που την υποδυεται έκανε ΕΞΑΙΡΕΤΙΚΗ δουλεια και πραγματικά σαν χαρακτήρας η Claire μου κεντρισέ το ενδιαφέρον περισσότερο από κάθε ρόλο που εχω δει στη ζωή μου.

Δεν πρόκειται για μια σειρά όπως τις υπόλοιπες και δεν θα έπρεπε κανείς να περιμένει απίστευτο σασπένς και κλαμα απαραίτητα σε κάθε επεισόδιο. Είναι μια σειρά που στην ουσία μπορεί να σε κάνει να ταυτιστείς, που έχει ΚΑΙ την καθημερινότητα μέσα, που χαρίζει τις καλύτερες ατάκες ρόλων που μπορεί να ευχηθεί ένας ηθοποιός, που σου δινει τροφή για σκέψη και σε κάνει να γελάς με το ιδιαίτερο μαύρο χιούμορ της. Είναι αρκετά ωμή, σαρκαστική και ρεαλιστική.

Στο πέρασμα των επεισοδίων και των κύκλων παρατηρούμε τον κάθε χαρακτήρα να πολεμάει με την ιδέα του θανάτου, τη ζωή του και το μέλλον του ισότιμα (δεν υπάρχει πρωταγωνιστής) καθως και πραγματα που κατα τη διαρκεια της ζωής τους τους σημαδεύουν, λάθη που τα μεγαλοποιούν (όλοι το κανουμε) και περαστικοί που δεν είναι απαραίτητο να τους αλλαξουν τη ζωή (κατι που εκτιμησα πολυ!). Κατα τη διαρκεια των κύκλων παρατηρησα άψογα πλάνα. Υπηρξαν πλάνα που με έκαναν να δακρύσω χωρίς να λένε τίποτα. Υπήρξαν πλάνα που έλεγαν τα πάντα χωρίς μία γραμή από λόγια.

Νομιζω είναι κάτι που προτείνω στους ΠΑΝΤΕΣ να δουν διοτι πιστεύω ότι και το μεγαλύτερο ζώον του πλανήτη θα το έβρισκε ενδιαφέρον. Το τελευταίο επεισόδιο της σειράς (εκεί που όλα τελειώνουν) είναι για μένα ό,τι καλύτερο έχω δει οπτικά. Προσωπικά μου άλλαξε τον τρόπο σκέψης, με έκανε να κλάψω όσο δεν έχω κλάψει ΠΟΤΕ στη ζωή μου, μονοπώλησε τις σκέψεις μου για το υπόλοιπο της εβδομαδας και με έκλεισε μέσα στο σπίτι για 3 συνεχόμενες μέρες. Ακόμα το σκέφτομαι συχνά. Αξιζει να δεις ΟΛΟΥΣ τους κυκλους για το τελικό επεισόδιο και μόνο!

Σίγουρα η σειρά μπορεί για πολλούς να είναι καταθλιπτική ειδικά αν είναι άτομα που σαν κεντρικό φόβο της ζωής τους έχουν τον θάνατο. Προσωπικά έχοντας σαν μεγαλύτερο φόβο αυτό, μπήκα σε πολλές σκέψεις και για μέρες ήμουν υπερβολικά φορτισμένος συναισθηματικά. Φοβαμαι το θανατο και τον χαμο των γύρω μου όσο τίποτα άλλο και η σειρά με χτύπησε ακριβώς εκεί. Όμως δεν μπορώ να πω ότι ήταν μαζοχιστική η διαδικασία, κάθε άλλο. Έμαθα πολλά, σκέφτηκα ακόμα περισσότερα και μπήκα στη διαδικασία να εκτιμήσω τη στιγμή που ζω, την κάθε στιγμή, να ευχαριστήσω τη μαμά μου, να αντιμετωπίσω τις αναμνήσεις μου (κατι που με μελαγχολεί απίστευτα). Η σειρά μου έκανε καλό όντας την ίδια στιγμή διασκεδαστική.

Δεν είναι χάσιμο χρόνου. Αυτό.

Ακολουθούν τρέιλερς του κάθε κύκλου [δεν περιεχουν σπόιλερς ομως δινουν απόλυτα την τρομερή αισθητική της σειράς]

1ος κύκλος

2ος κύκλος

3ος κύκλος

4ος κύκλος

5ος κύκλος

Max (Max Records) er uterlig over for sin mor (Catherine Keener) da middagen skal serveres

Where The Wild Things Are er en fabel om drengen Max som har det svært i den virkelige verden med en teenage søster som han holder utrolig meget af men som ikke ænser ham, en fraskilt mor som forsøger at forstå ham, men som ikke tager sig tid til ham. Max flygter til en en anden verden – en fantasi verden, hvor han møder nogle fantastiske skabninger som han bliver venner med og som interesserer sig i ham.

Max stirrer vildyret Carol (stemme: James Gandolfini) ind i øjene og siger at han er en konge

Den meget længe ventede film instrueret af Spike Jonze som fik sit instruktør gennembrud med filmen Being John Malkovich fra 1999, gør en rigtig godt stykke arbejde. Max bliver fortryllende spillet af Max Records, og hans mor spilles af Catherine Keener. Også vildyrene som bl.a. har stemmer af James Gandolfini, Chris Cooper, Forest Whitaker og Lauren Ambrose er utrolig nærværende og nutidige. Lauren Ambrose lægger stemme til KW som er det vildyr som er mest menneskelig, og hendes kælne stemme bliver nogen gange helt flirtende. Den meget nutidige dialog virker til tider nærmest konverserende.

Max og Carol walk and talk i ørkenen

Filmen er rigtig flot lavet. Vildyrene og scenografien er fantastisk og samspillet mellem Max og vildyrene er meget troværdig. Det er egentlig spøjst hvor livagtige og hvor meget personlighed disse vildyr formår at have. Stor Kudos til Spike Jonze.

Max nyder udsigten fra Carol's hoved

Selvom selve historien er noget simpel, fænger den og man er underholdt. Men filmens arkileshæl er at filmen ikke entydigt har lavet en børne film til børn, eller en voksen film til voksne. Men istedet lavet en familie film til alle. Det betyder at filmen kommer til at sætte sig imellem 2 stole. Jeg tror børn som bliver ledsaget af forældre vil være underholdt, men ikke nok til at sige til deres venner at de skal tage ind og se filmen. Og ligeledes med voksne som går alene i biografen, så tror jeg at de vil få en fin oplevelse, men nok ikke stor nok til at sige til venner at de skal se den. Nej, jeg tror at det er en film som er lavet til de kæmpe publikum som er vokset op med bogen om Where The Wild Things Are af Maurice Sendak som udkom i 1963 og har solgt over 19 milioner kopier på verdens plan. Og disse folk vil blive rigtig godt underholdt!

Max trøstes af KW (stemme: Lauren Ambrose)

Og som med mange fabler så bliver de hængene længe efter man har set filmen eller læst bogen. Hvem har ikke lyst til at sove i en kæmpe klynge med disse sjove monstre?

Heather and I were having a chat today, about what hair color we wished we had. When I was younger I really wanted red hair. I believe it was after I saw a movie that starred a red-headed actress, but I can’t remember which. Anyway, I was just thinking about our conversation, and figured since I’m really bored right now I would write a post about it.  Here are some kick-ass red-heads for your viewing pleasure:

Amy Adams: Multi-talented actress, who can pull off comedy and drama. Memorable role: Giselle in Enchanted(2007).

Julianne Moore: Award winning actress. Upcoming role: as Cathrine in Chloe (2009).

Laura Prepon: Not a natural red-head but the look works for her. Best known role: Donna on That 70’s Show(i’ve been watching a lot of  re-runs lately).

Lucille Ball: Probably the most famous red-head. Known for: Lucy on I love Lucy.

Maureen O’Hara: Irish actress. Best known role: Margaret McKendrick in The Parent Trap (1961).

Susan Sarandon: Award winning actress: Upcoming role: Nancy in Solitary Man (2009).

Nicole Kidman: It would be silly not to list this actress. Upcoming role: Claudia in Nine(2009)

Lauren Ambrose: Actress. Recent role: KW in Where the Wild Things Are (2009).

Rachelle Lefevre: Actress with wildest red hair. Upcoming role: Victoria in New Moon(2009).

I realize there are many more awesome red-heads, but it would take a ridiculously longtime to post.

enjoy

~Nicole

Update: it has been brought to my attention to change the picture of Nicole Kidman. So how’s this one?

Un film del 2009, regia di Spike Jonze, con Catherine Keener / Paul Dano / Forest Whitaker / Lauren Ambrose. Prodotto da Warner Bros (101min)

Avventura / Drammatico / Fantastico / Ragazzi

Il piccolo e pestifero Max, spedito dalla madre a letto senza cena per punizione, si crea un mondo immaginario, una foresta popolata da creature selvagge che lo nominano loro regnante assoluto.

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)