Paranorman

Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts is under a curse- the curse of a witch, to be exact. 300 years ago, a little girl was declared to be a witch and executed and each year, someone must read from a certain book each year to keep the girl in her grave.  This task falls to Norman Babcock, a boy who has a gift that feels like a curse- he can see ghosts and connect with the dead.  He routinely speaks with his dead grandmother, puzzling his parents and sister and making him an outcast at school.

Being different can be a curse in school.  Any difference can make a child subject to taunting, teasing, and can make school (and home life) a miserable experience, and it's easy to put oneself in Norman's shoes throughout the film. He's ridiculed at school and by his sister and father at home, and really only has one friend that sticks by him throughout. 

Paranorman is a film probably best enjoyed by kids- there's a few grossout moments and the humor's more at the early teenage level, but does have some funny moments.  The stop-motion animation is well-done and the 3D is best in the closing scenes.  The voicework (by John Goodman, Jeff Garlin, Casey Affleck, Anna Kendrick, and Leslie Mann, among others) is also excellent.  I'd recommend it for kids especially, but adults will have a good time as well.

Tears for Fears- Saturnine Martial and Lunatic

 

Recently, I listened to one of my favorite CDs growing up, Tears For Fears Saturnine Martial and Lunatic.  It's a collection of B-sides from the popular 80s band, and what made it unique then and now was that many of the tracks played with existing melodies or ideas from TFF songs- for example,  the opening track "Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams" has a woman rapping the lyrics to "Sowing The Seeds of Love".  "Pharaohs", a very laid back track, features some of the guitar work from Everybody Wants To Rule The World.  "Deja Vu and The Sins of Science" is noteworthy because of the lyrics but also the sounds effects, including what sounds like a van door closing (and, at one point, a cow mooing).  There's an alternate take of "Laid So Low" called "Tears Roll Down", and a cover of David Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes.  Overall, it's an interesting listen and one of the better B-side collections I've heard.

Live album review- Genesis- Live Over Europe 2007

Genesis is another group that reminds me of childhood- I'd always loved the Invisible Touch album, and later I got into some of their early work.  There's a debate on which is better- the Peter Gabriel era or the Phil Collins era.  Personally, I think each has its strong points- Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is strong PG Genesis, while I like the Abacab and Genesis albums better than Invisible Touch during the Collins era.

Collins left Genesis in the mid-nineties, and in 2007 they reunited (interestingly, the same year as The Police, another one of my favorites).  They released Live Over Europe in late 2007, but I didn't get around to it until just recently.

LOE starts with a trio of faster paced, recognizable tunes, but the first few tracks also signal one of the release's major problems- many of the songs are at lower keys, as Phil Collins' voice isn't what it used to be.  The version of Turn It On Again that leads off could be described as a polite version- definitely not as hard-rocking as the studio or earlier live versions.  No Son of Mine suffers from the same treatment, although it works slightly better, and I did enjoy Land of Confusion,the band seemed tighter than the 90s live release The Way We Walk (TWWW).

Next came a section that really bogged down- In The Cage/Afterglow was enjoyable at first but stretched out too long and was plagued by cheesy synth. Hold on My Heart is one of the dullest songs in the Genesis catalog, but I did enjoy Collins' singing in this version.  Home By The Sea was almost note-for-note the same as TWWW.

One of my favorite Genesis songs, Follow You Follow Me, was next, but this was more a light-rock version, especially the ending.  Then came an excerpt of Firth of Fifth, which featured some solid drumming. 

By this point, I started to notice some patterns.  The more popular songs were getting safe treatment, enjoyable but not much different than either the studio or previously released live versions.  The earlier-era Genesis songs were long (sometimes painfully long) and often featured cheesy synthesizers.  So followed the pattern until the end, and the problem with this release is that it's hard to have a show with both early prog-rock Genesis and the more commercial songs, as it almost seems directionless after a while.   Some more upbeat songs would have helped- a Misunderstanding or That's All mixed in would have livened things up considerably.  Instead, the band goes for a dated-sounding Domino (almost identical to TWWW) and then closes out with stale versions of Invisible Touch and I Can't Dance. 

Book Review- True Believers by Kurt Andersen

 

Karen Hollander, now 65 years old, looks back on her life as she prepares to write a revealing book about herself and her friends and their activities in the 1960s.  One friend calls the book "a suicide package" as the secrets revealed have the potential to be very explosive.

That's about as deep as I'm going to go with the plot summary, as to reveal any more would be a disservice, and I think one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much was that it nearly never went where I was expecting.  Andersen does an excellent job of revealing the secrets slowly as the book alternates between the present and the past, and also weaving history into the plot.  True Believers starts innocently enough, with Hollander and her friends hooked on Bond novels and carrying out their own imaginary (but yet not imaginary) missions between junior high and high school.  As they grow older, the turbulence of the Sixties draws them in and events unfold and are unveiled aptly by Andersen.

I highly, highly recommend True Believers, as it represents the best contemporary fiction I have read in quite a long time./

Wanderlust

Director:  David Wain

Stars:  Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux (future Mr. Aniston), Alan Alda

In Wanderlust, Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston playPaul and Linda Gergenblatt struggling financially after Rudd's character loses his job and the two lose their high-priced New York apartment.   Without palatable alternatives, the Gergenblatts return to an "intentional community" (the folks there don't like it being called a commune.  After initially resisting the lifestyle, they begin to embrace the change of pace, no longer obsessed with technology (Zenith televisions and walkmen, according to the "leader" Seth).

Overall, Wanderlust is not a great movie, but has some solid laughs.  Rudd and Aniston are mostly reactory characters in the zaniness that dominates the movie.  The characters on the commune are mostly stereotypical hippies and most grow tiresome pretty quickly.  The "leader" (although the residents don't call him that) is written pretty well.  

I wouldn't recommend Wanderlust highly.  It has its flaws- the R rating is for graphic nudity (and really unnecessary graphic nudity at that ), and the conflict between Paul and Linda later in the movie doesn't feel altogether genuine.  But watching Wanderlust isn't a waste of time- it's not as crude or obnoxious as something like Hall Pass.

Moonrise Kingdom

Expectations are a funny thing. 

I had put off seeing Moonrise Kingdom for a while, knowing that Wes Anderson was the director.  I'd seen two Wes Anderson films, so granted, the sample size wasn't all that big to provoke such a reaction.  The Royal Tenenbaums was a royal bore to me, and with such a great cast, I was really disappointed.  I enjoyed Rushmore, but its lead character Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) became so annoying by the end of the film that I had a sour taste in my mouth about the whole film.

Even as the previews were showing, I still had some apprehension- would I love Moonrise Kingdom, as so many people had, or would I want to bang my head against the soft recliner's seat back?

To give a brief synopsis, 12 year old Sam Shukusky has run away from the Khaki Scouts and Suzy Bishop (around the same age) has run away from home- they were pen pals and have run away to have an adventure.   Each of them has had some misbehavior in the past, some of it rather violent.  Edward Norton plays the scoutmaster, Bruce Willis a police captain, Bill Murray and Frances McDormand are Suzy's parents.

So, tremendous cast.  Been there before.  Question still remains- would I enjoy the film?

The answer is a loud, enthusiastic yes, and the characters are a big reason why.
 The characters are very real, very fleshed out.  Kara Heyward and Jared Gilmanre incredible as Suzy and Sam.  Both are kids with issues- Suzy has temper problems, and Sam is an orphan with a track record of misbehavior, but together they have such a bond.  Edward Norton plays the Scout Master as someone extremely enthusiastic to do the job, but not over the top.

And that's just it- none of the characters are over the top or cartoonish.  They're written and played just right, and because of that, the film really drew me in from the start and never let go. 

Movie- Chocolat (2000)

Chocolat

Director:  Lasse Hallstrom

Stars:  Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Johnny Depp

Chocolat takes place in a small town in France where people follow the rules.  They go to church every Sunday, they don't indulge during Lent, they follow the example of their mayor, Compte De Reynaud (Alfred Molina), who prides himself on discipline.  He goes so far in leading by example that he edits the sermons each week. 

Enter Vianne (Juliette Binoche)- she goes where the North Wind blows, and it's swept her into town, where she opens a chocolaterie (during Lent, no less), outraging the town and the Compte.  She encourages the townspeople to indulge and gets close to Armande (Judi Dench), who has been banned from seeing her grandson, as she is seen as a bad influence on him by her daughter.

Chocolat has something in common with one of last year's nominees, The Cider House Rules- the two films share the same director, Lasse Hallstrom.  The two films are similar in pace- both are plodding, deliberate films, and both involve characters seeking adventure.  Whereas Tobey Maguire's character in Cider House Rules sought to change only his life, however, Chocolat's protagonist seeks to change others, to stir things up for everyone.

I found Chocolat to be a bit exasperating in parts.  Juliette Binoche's character in particular comes off as obnoxious at times- she has a knowing smirk every time someone samples her chocolate.  Alfred Molina's glare gets a bit old as well, although near the ending he does have a funny scene.  Overall, I didn't hate Chocolat, but can't recommend it, either.

The Avengers

I had wanted to see The Avengers for quite some time, especially after hearing some glowing reviews.  It's not often I see a movie for pure fun or a thrill ride, and action films (especially comic book films) are not generally my thing.  There has to be more to a movie than things blowing up and great special effects.

There's definitely more in The Avengers, which rates as probably the best action movie I've ever seen (and I say probably because I may think of one later, but not likely).  There were so many ways this movie could have gone wrong- wooden action film dialogue, the curse of having so many stars together, but it stays beautifully on track the entire way.  The plot is kept relatively simple- there is a power source called the Tesseract, which falls into the hands of villain Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the Avengers must get it back, as Loki is determined to rule mankind with it.

Seeing so many comic books heroes at the same time was striking to me, and as I heard in other reviews, each one really does get a chance to shine.  The Incredible Hulk in particular was a frightening presence, but he also had some of the film's funnier moments.

I highly recommend The Avengers as an extremely well made film- the action sequences and special effects had me on the edge of my seat, and lived up to the expectations of being a really fun ride.