Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - 2010

Rachael - 2/18/13

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World wasn’t a movie I particularly wanted to see. It’s based off of manga-style comic book series, which although I like comic book movies and Asian foreign films, manga is a world I don’t understand nor have interest in. But it came recommended so I tried to go into it with an open mind.

I instantly appreciated the video game / comic book feel of the movie, created by eye-popping visual effects and video game sounds. It allows the characters’ to interact with the space around them on another level, amplifying emotions. Even though these effects proved rather childish as the movie progressed, I still give it style points.

As characters are introduced, their name, age, and “level” appeared in a box next to them, letting the audience know this movie is about people around the age of 22. I don’t believe any character was over the age of 25. And it doesn’t take long until you realize the movie deals with issues only thought to be as intense as the movie treats them by people between the ages of 17-23: starting new relationships and dealing with the fact that you’re not the first person to date your significant other.

I know I’m giving adults too much credit, but theoretically once you hit a certain age and have been in enough relationships, you develop a level of maturity that allows you to let the existence of exes fall into the background. But for young adults who have only been in a couple relationships, I guess this is a huge deal to overcome, and worth building a comic book series and movie around. I’m was already emotionally detached from the plight of Scott Pilgrim and what he’d do to date the “girl of his dreams” Ramona.

I completely separated myself from this movie once I realized there is zero chemistry between any of the characters to warrant use of the “L” word (love, not lesbians), let alone risking lives over relationships. There is no girl in the world where every single one of her exes (going back to the 7^th grade) is still hung up on and wants back regardless of how hot their current girlfriends are or how successful and famous they’ve become. Especially this girl, who looks goth and has the charm of burnt white toast. Sorry Ramona, in real life your exes are over you and probably forgot that week in middle school when you guys dated. And there is no way Scott Pilgrim is bagging the hot Asians and hot rock star chicks that are fighting over him. He has no job, he sleeps in the same bed as his gay roommate (and whatever other dudes his roommate brings home) and his hair kinda makes him look like this:

In real life, Scott Pilgrim can only get Juno-esque chicks.

Now I’d let Cera’s looks slide if I truly felt the two main characters were supposed to be together. But there’s no way I’m going to emotionally back Pilgrim for 112 minutes as he roundhouse kicks and karate chops his way into a relationship that will probably end unconsummated within a month.

Rating - 1

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Chandler - 2/18/13

This movie lost me when the first "battle" turned into a painfully awkward musical. It then tried to draw me back in with some clever and unexpected nerd humor (people turn into coins when they die), but the giggles were too few and far between.

I get the metaphor. But the idea would probably be better served as a short film instead a full-length feature. Or, maybe it works better as a comic. Either way, it flopped in the box office... and again in my living room.

Rating - 1

The Pianist - 2002

Chandler - 2/7/13

When director Roman Polanski isn't having sex with 13 year old girls, he makes some pretty decent movies.

The Pianist is no exception. Unlike the movie Shine, which I also just watched, there isn't much piano playing in Polanski's story. Instead... there's a lot of Germans killing Jews.

The Pianist is a biographical film of a Polish-Jewish piano player, who gets "stuck" in Poland during WW2. The movie follows the establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto, the failed uprising and eventually liberation by the Soviet Army.

It's a pretty accurate film, with a lot of great detail given to the Warsaw Ghetto. It's also pretty disturbing at times, as the German government moves from humiliation, to containment to extermination (resulting in the death of over 300,000 Jews from the ghetto alone).

Worth a watch, especially for the historical context.

Rating - 3

Beasts of the Southern Wild - 2012

Geoff - 2/7/13

Beasts of the Southern Wild is set in a broken down bayou town called "The Bath Tub" and is a tale about the main character, "Hush Puppy". Hush Puppy lives in The Bath Tub with her sickly, drunk father, who spends most of the picture yelling at (her). I spent half the movie trying to figure out if Hush Puppy was a boy or a girl. In my defense, her father in the film often refers to her as "man" and tells her one day she'll be "king of the Bath Tub".

Beasts of the Southern Wild is an interesting movie for a few reasons. For starters the main stars in the movie haven't acted before. Quvenzhané Wallis (Hush Puppy) is getting a lot of acclaim, even an Oscar nomination. Though, personally, I think Dwight Henry who plays her father "Wink" is the one that did the better work.

Beasts of the Southern Wild takes us through the trials and tribulations of what happens to the people living in The Bath Tub when a levy breaks and floods their homes. As Wink's condition worsens and they're forced to evacuate, Hush Puppy must grow up quickly. The movie shows almost literal parallels between the citizens of The Bath Tub and giant prehistoric hog-like creatures called "Aurochs" as the Bath Tubbers fight their own extinction. It's a lot to wrap your head around, but it's actually done pretty well in the film.

Rating - 2