MYST #: The Lego Movie

The other night I was babysitting and the kids wanted to watched the Lego Movie and I was happy to oblige because 1) that would make me a terrible babysitter and 2) I'vebeen wanting to see the movie that goes with that terribly annoying but terribly catchy song.

This film is about a legoman (?), Emmett, who is a pretty average guy with a construction job and a day to day routine. He thinks he has many friends, but in reality no one really knows who he is. One day, he meets a girl and she leads him on this journey because he is the “chosen one.”

 I can definitely see how this movie can represent contemporary film mainly because of the technology that is prevalent throughout this whole movie. The movie looks so “real” and even though it has been created with a computer. One of the best examples is any part of the movie that included water. When Emmet (Chris Pratt) is taking a shower it works in the same manner that real water does. In another scene when many of the characters are in the ocean, their submarine begins to fill with water, and again it looks so real. Then as the scene cuts to above the ocean, the waves are moving as real waves do, yet it was Lego's. Throughout the whole movie, I was just amazed.

I always talk about the acting in my posts, but it’s a little different for a movie like this. From early cartoons, the actors had to really use their voices in order to express the emotions of the characters because the faces couldn't show much. As time has progressed, along with technology, the ability to make animated characters show more emotion has evolved. In this movie, that was definitely the case, however, the actor’s ability to use their voices too added a lot to the effect. Chris Pratt character’s humor reminded me of his character in the Office, Especially the part he told Wyldstyle and Vitruvius about his double decker couch. I was surprised with all the big name actors that voiced in this movie like Will Arnett, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, and Elizabeth Banks. I thought it was funny the dynamic between Superman (Tatum) and Green Lantern (Hill) because it had a lot of similarities to their relationship in both 21 Jumpstreet and 22 Jumpstreet movies (clip). I like the nice touch they did by adding Shaq into the mix and him voicing himself.

One big praise I have for this movie is that it’s a good, genuine kids movie which I feel is missing these days. There will be one here and there, but collectively there are not very many being released. I feel as though adult movie/ mature audience movies are dominating the theaters anymore. I guess it’s good for adults, bad for children. But really, this movie can be enjoyed by all audiences. It is funny to anyone of any age.

In one of the opening sequences when Emmet is getting ready for the day, it seemed to me as though that was making fun of society. Here’s what I mean. He has a set of “rules” he follows, and to me it seemed to be commenting on society’s way or at least a select group of people who are always going with what they know and never changing. Once Emmet steps outside to the bustling city, people and traffic are moving in a much synchronized way, again just going with their routine.

The rating I give this movie is a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I had to take it down for that song. Now, excuse me while I try to get that out of my head. 

MYST #5: Howl

This weekend I watched the movie Howl directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. I had seen it a few months ago thought it looked interesting, but then I forgot about it. So, this weekend when I was looking for something to watch, I came across it again and there you have it.

This movie is about the poet Allen Ginsberg and his literary work Howl. Ginsberg is played by James Franco. There are many other well-known actors in the movie in supporting roles - such as John Hamm and Bob Balaban- but no one is as big of a role as Franco. The film moves through 3 main sequences. The first is Ginsberg telling the story of his life leading up to when the writing of the poem took place. Within that, we see the stories being acted out. For example, as Ginsberg is telling the story of him and his friend spending time together one day, we see that scene as it is narrated. Another sequence is a cartoon depiction of the poem as it is read by Franco. The last sequence is a trial. The poem was controversial because it and was actually put on trial because of obscenity pertaining to illicit drugs and sexual references.

Franco did a really good job playing his role. I had never seen him in a role like this before (previously I had seen him in the Spider-Man films he did with Tobey Maguire and Flyboys to name a few). I always think of him as more of a comedy actor, but this was not that. I don't know what Ginsberg was like, but it seemed as though Franco really got into character and Ginsberg was anything like Franco portrayed, then he did a great job. I was surprised at some of the other actors that popped up in this movie. I was not expecting any of them. To start, Jon Hamm played the defense attorney. I have only ever seen him in Bridesmaids, but I know he has been very successful recently with his role in the TV series Mad Men. In Howl, I do give him praise for the performance he gave. Bob Balaban from the Grand Budapest Hotel, the Monument Men, Moonrise Kingdom, etc. played the judge at the trial. I thought he, too, gave a good performance in his role.

One of the best cinematic elements that was in this movie was the cartoon depiction of the poem as Franco narrated it. I thought is was a very cool element and a different from what I was expecting. It also was not just a boring cartoon, but rather very detailed with color and how the pictures moved. A lot of times, those parts made me think of Tim Burton films in how they looked. Another thing was the use of color versus black and white while Ginsberg was recalling his life moments, which is pretty typical in many films. For example, in one scene, he is talking about one of his friends and their relationship. As it shows him sitting in the chair telling the story, it's all in color, but when it shows the flashback, it's black and white.

There is one thing that I wanted to point out about this movie, It is small and may be a bit nit picky. When Franco is reading the poem, the voice he uses is very odd. He places emphasis in weird places, and it was a little annoying. It also was different then how he spoke for Ginsberg in the interview, so I thought it was a little interesting.

When it comes to the rating for this movie, it is a little difficult. I say that because I think to really enjoy this movie, you have to have a great understanding of poetry and Ginsberg, which I didn't. With that being said, I couldn't appreciate this movie as I think it is supposed to be. From my point of view, I give this film 3 out of 5 stars.