We just got back from seeing Pixar's latest - WALL-E.

Wow. Awesome. Incredible.

Go see this movie. See it on a big screen.

You will love it.

Pixar has done it again. *grin*

Rating: 5 stars!

This was a weekend for unusual movie viewing experiences. First, on Saturday night we saw Animal House for free on the big screen at Cinemaworld.

And then Sunday night, we watched Across the Universe while floating in a hot tub.

As often happens - good things come from "embracing the power of and". While debating with our visiting friend Martin whether to watch a movie or hang out in the hot tub, we decided - why not both? Soon we had a laptop screen and speakers set up, and Martin provided the movie.

I had never heard of Across the Universe, but it was an amazing and offbeat treat. The movie uses the music of The Beatles (33 songs!) to tell the stories of a young artist from Liverpool (Jude), his best friend and soon-to-be-draftee Max, his activist love Lucy, and a swirl of other characters surrounding them in the turbulent late 60's setting.

The visuals of the movie get rather trippy at times - particularly during the psychedilic bus trip sequence with Dr. Robert (U2's Bono) singing "I Am The Walrus" as they road-trip across the country. Then the outrageous Eddie Izzard makes an appearance singing "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" with a chorus of dancing Blue Meanies.

When Max gets drafted, things get even weirder as an Uncle Sam poster comes to life to sing "I Want You So Bad" to him while he is marched through his indoctrination physical.

The music is great. The visuals are stunning. The characters are engaging. The entire 1960's NYC world feels brought to life. Ever step of the way the movie feels unpredictable and imaginatively engaging.

I loved it. This is what movie magic is all about!

Rating: 5 stars!

Saturday night we decided to get out of the house for a while, and serolynne and I met up with mladypain for the Free Midnight Movie at Cinemaworld in Melbourne.

This week's feature - the 1978 comedy classic Animal House.

I always worry when I watch older "classic" comedies. So many of them have failed to age well, and many are now downright painful to watch.

But Animal House has held up to the test of time. It is a delight, and often downright laugh-out-loud hilarious. The plot is simplistic, the humor crude and outrageous, and that is exactly the point.

John Belushi in particular demonstrates his mastery of physical comedy and facial expressions. He is a comedic genius indeed.

Animal House gets extra points from me for being such an original movie that has inspired countless imitators.

All in all, a great night out. And you can't beat the price - free!

Rating: 5 stars!

Often people are amazed that serolynne and I can manage to live so well together in a 16' long trailer.

It really isn't that hard.

These folks on the otherhand - egads!

Imagine having and raising NINE kids while traveling (and surfing) full time in a 24' motorhome. Talk about a lack of space!

This documentary (entitled Surfwise) about the life and adventures of the disturbingly unconventional Paskowitz family looks absolutely fascinating. I can't wait to see it.

Saturday night serolynne and I had a bunch of friends over for party, and then on Sunday we went out to see Iron Man with a bunch of the out-of-town stragglers who stayed over.

It rocked.

Great characters, fun special effects, and an ass-kicking super hero. Iron Man takes the typical summer blockbuster formula, and executes it nearly perfectly.

I was a bit disappointed with the climatic final battle (ice?!!?), and I wish there had been more background and depth given to the villain. And there were a few scenes that were just not particularly believable, even allowing for the Iron Man universe physics. The suit is supposed to be indestructible, not the man...

But minor quibbles aside, this movie was a visual feast perfect for seeing on the big screen. Much fun!

Rating: 4+ stars

I never would have imagined this.

A documentary about the quest to be the world's best Donkey Kong player you would expect to appeal to a rather limited audience. I mean, just how fascinating can it be to watch a bunch of geeks obsessing over insanely high scores in a 25 year old video game???

But to my surprise - The King of Kong ended up being one of the funniest and most entertaining documentaries I have ever seen. Even if you could care less about video games, the personalities that the filmmakers capture are beyond fascinating. This is such an incredibly well made movie revolving around such an engrossing story that it is impossible not the be entranced.

swdev and his wife invisibleink151 joined serolynne and I for lunch and a movie this afternoon. Based upon a good review I had stumbled across online, Kong was in our NetFlix stack, and became our lunchtime entertainment.

We were all floored, laughing out loud, and constantly staring at each other with jaws on the floor. None of us expected The King of Kong to be so amazingly good.

The rivalry between reigning champion and "Gamer of the Century" Billy Mitchell and out-of-nowhere upstart Steve Wiebe is as gripping as any rivalry in the history of sports. Billy has seemingly based his entire life around his reputation as the best, and his 1982 record had never been challenged - until Steve came along.

Steve's wife and kids are bemusingly supportive of their father's sudden fame and glory. But the family dynamics make for some of the best parts of the film. Here is Steve talking with his daughter:

Jillian: I never knew that the Guinness World Record Book was so... I never knew it was so important.
Steve: I guess a lot of people are... yeah, a lot of people read that book.
Jillian: [while directly looking at Steve, her father] Some people sort of ruin their lives to be in there.

*ouch*

And then there is Steve's toddler son, demanding that his father "Stop playing Donkey Kong and wipe my butt!" while his father tries to stall him as he is just at that very moment within striking distance of the record. Talk about bad timing!!

A scripted comedy could never generate such perfectly funny and real moments.

As Kong progresses, you find yourself cheering on the underdog Steve, and hating the cowardly Billy as squirms every which way to avoid having his record stripped from him.

The cast of supporting characters is just as fascinating. There is even a Q-Bert playing grandma mixed into the pot.

I haven't seen something this solidly entertaining in ages. If you get a chance, watch this movie!

Rating: 5 stars!

Note: Billy claims that the movie unfairly portrays him, and distorts the truth for dramatic effect. His claim is potentially true, but then again - he is pouting and has refused to even watch the film since its release. For a fascinating interview with him, including several video clips, look here.

This afternoon serolynne and I went and saw the U23D concert film.

Wow.

No fluff, no filler, no backstage shots... Just 80 minutes of U2 rocking out while on the Vertigo tour.

The high definition cameras combined with the 3D effect is stunning. You really feel like you are there, zooming above the audience and around the stage. The lights, the sounds, the energy of the crowd... It was amazing.

It is so immersive that at times it feels less like a film than a concert. I could hardly keep myself sitting still - you can't help but want to stand up and move, shout, and sing. Several of the songs were so emotionally powerfully they brought tears to my eyes.

It was an amazing experience. Almost as good as being there. A bit less energy than live, but you get a much better view...

U2 is the most amazing band I have ever seen perform. If you have never had the chance to see U2 live, now is your chance. Spend the $10 and see this film. You will be blown away.

Rating: 5-stars!

New Years Day was a good day for movies.

First we spent the afternoon watching Ratatouille on DVD, and I was once again blown away by it.

Then a bunch of us drove in to Orlando to see the 25th anniversary theatrical release of Blade Runner on the big screen at the Enzion.

What a stunningly beautiful movie.

Ridley Scott creates an immersive future world that is dystopian and bleak, yet not empty. His future LA is run down, but bustling. The city skyline is monumental (the pyramids are amazing!), but much of the city is also a wasteland. The contrasts and the extremes are what draw you in, and are what make it seem so real.

The visual styling is incredibly lush. Scott paints the world with shadows, smoke, rain and bright neon. The future noir visual style of Blade Runner has been an inspiration for countless sci-fi movies since, and it is easy to see why.

The slow and deliberate pacing in Blade Runner really blows me away. This is the exact opposite of the typical quick-cut action movie. And when the violence does come, the camera does not flinch away. The Vangelis soundtrack sets the mood perfectly - creating a feast for your ears as well as your eyes.

And the plot? There is no simple "good guy saving the world" story here. Rather, the movie explores what it means to be human, and what it means to be free. Do slaves have the right to rebel against their masters?

Blade Runner leaves you with no easy answers, and lots of delicious food for thought.

Rating: 5+ stars.

Cherie's dad celebrates a Christmas Day tradition of bad movies - and the choice yesterday afternoon was bad indeed. I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry is a mess of a movie.

Adam Sandler and Kevin James are two extremely straight (and homophobic) Brooklyn firefighters who file for a domestic partnership to get pension benefits. But they soon discover that the city is investigating them for potential fraud, so suddenly they need to make their partnership seem as real as possible - moving in together, "gaying up the place", going to Aids benefits, and even getting married in Canada.

The movie is nothing but a mess of magnified and reinforced stereotypes. The ultimate message is one of acceptance, but not in the sense of "gay folks are everywhere and most of them look and act pretty darn normal" but rather "gay folks are flaming bizarre and disgusting, but they need to be true to who they really are so you should accept them." *ugh*

I was also really offended with the movie portraying twin sisters making out as jaw-on-the-floor hot (sisters?!?) - while even at the end of the movie making such a big deal out of two men kissing being something you should avert your eyes from in disgust.

What sort of message is that to be reinforcing? *groan*

Rating: 1 star.

After seeing Sweeney Todd Friday night, serolynne and I were in desperate need for some light-hearted entertainment on Saturday that did not involve slit throats or cannibalism.

Fortunately, swdev and Heather had left behind the animated Dreamwork's movie Madagascar in our DVD player earlier in the week (it had been put to use entertaining their daughter), and after giving up on Saturday morning cartoons, we decided to give it a watch.

It was GREAT! The perfect antidote to Sweeney Todd...

The writing had a rare balance of humor that works for all ages, the characters were well voiced and well animated, and the 3D environments were beautifully rendered.

The story was great - imaginative and original. In summary: pampered Central Park Zoo animals (a show-off lion, a zebra with a mid-life crisis, a motherly hippo, and a hypochondriac giraffe) end up in THE WILD, washed up on a beach in Madagascar after a series of misadventures running around New York City...

I particularly enjoyed the mercenary penguins that hijack a freighter to try and escape to Antarctica - only to arrive and say: "this sucks"

Consider Madagascar highly recommended! And if you get the DVD, be sure to watch all the extras - the animated shorts (particularly the penguins) are a blast too.

Rating: 4+ stars!

Friday night we headed into Orlando to meet up with some friends at Downtown Disney for dinner and an opening night viewing of the new Johnny Depp / Tim Burton movie - Sweeney Todd.

I'm glad we had dinner first, because I don't think I could have eaten much after. It is rare that a movie leaves me feeling physically a bit nauseous, but Sweeney Todd manages.

In a movie/musical about a "demonic" Victorian London barber who slits the throats of his customers and has the bodies ground up into the "best tasting meat pies in London" - being left with a feeling of nausea is actually a bit forgivable.

But that the movie is filled with often indecipherable low mumbly heavily accented quickly spoken (or sung) dialog over loud music is not forgivable in the least. Several people after the movie commented that they wished for subtitles.

The excessive gore and spurting blood didn't impress me much either. I imagine pulling off such dramatic over-the-top deaths on a Broadway stage would be amazing to see, and an incredible demonstration of stagecraft. But in a movie, spurting fountains of blood just isn't that impressive - and it felt forced and gratuitous.

The songs are well sung, but only one or two were memorable. Some of the folks we were with who had seen the stage version were disappointed that some of their favorite songs from the musical were missing from the movie.

All in all, this movie is extremely skippable. There are much better period films, slasher films, and musicals to be seen.

I expect more from Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, they seem like such a perfect match of director and star. But I also thought Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a huge disappointment - so maybe I should stop expecting good things from this pairing...

Rating: 2 stars.

When he found out we were going to be still in town Saturday night, Sean got thoroughly excited about taking Cherie and I to the weekly Trash Film Orgy, held every Saturday night at midnight at downtown Sacramento's historic Crest Theater.

This weeks feature, the 1975 classic: Death Race 2000!!

Egads, what trash!

Set in the "far future" of the year 2000, the movie is about five racers competing in America's most revered sporing event - a transcontinental race from New York to LA. But this race has a twist - racers are not just competing for the fastest time, but for the most points. And how do you score points? Via death, of course:

Male adult: 20 points
Male teenager: 40 points
Male infant/toddler: 70 points
Female (any age): 10 points more than men in any age bracket
Senior citizen (regardless of gender): 100 points

Not your typical ESPN fare, eh? One highlight was seeing Sylvester Stallone starring in one of his first big roles, a year or two before Rocky. Imagine the Italian Stallion plowing over pedestrians making that trademark scowl and roaring his Rambo growl, and you get the idea...

Sadly, there was not nearly enough carnage to make this movie as fun, cheesy, or trashy as it could have been. The concept was way better than the implementation. It looks as if it was made on a shoestring budget, particularly the sets, costumes, and cars...

The best part though was the whole Trash Film Orgy experience. The theater was packed, a lot of people were in costume, cheering and jeering loudly was encouraged, and there were bizarre contests and skits on stage before the movie and during intermission. A wild Saturday night out indeed!

Rating: 2 trashy stars...

BTW: Wikipedia makes mention of a remake in the works. Death Race 3000 is potentially coming to theaters in 2008. Be afraid!

Last night we watched an incredible movie, made with intense love and beautiful attention to detail. Ratatouille embodies nearly everything I love about the art of movie making.

Night at the Museum on the other hand seems to embody nearly everything I hate.

Ben Still is hired on as a night watchman at a museum where the exhibits come to life every night. It could have been a magical fantasy. Instead it was just plain painful.

The movie felt cobbled together. There was no love or attention to detail. No chemistry between the actors. And it is little wonder. From wikipedia:

"While filming, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson only had one day that they saw each other. Ben Stiller talked to a toothpick for the Jedediah scenes; three months later Owen Wilson came and filmed all of his parts."

A toothpick actually might have been a better casting choice.

I also found this on Wikipedia:

"Originally, Stephen Sommers was the director of the project. He eventually left due to creative differences."

Whenever a director quits over creative differences, movies should be mandated to carry a warning label:
RUN AWAY, THIS MOVIE HAS NO HEART AND NO SOUL.

Rating: 1 star

After being reminded how incredible Brad Bird is as a director a few days ago, I knew I needed to see Ratatouille ASAP. So serolynne cashed in some Fandango bux last night, and we went to see it with Lindsay and Sean.

WOW!

I haven't had so much fun going to a movie in ages. We were all four laughing out loud throughout the entire film. The attention to detail Pixar puts into character development and sets is incredible. Even the smallest details are lovingly crafted. The voices (no big names) are perfectly done. The story is fun and thoroughly engaging for all ages. And the animation quality takes the state of the art further than I have ever seen.

I give Ratatouille my highest possible rating - it is as good as anything Pixar has ever done. Go see this one on the big screen while you have the chance!

Rating: 5 stars!

Last night serolynne picked out a movie to watch - a nice break from slowly working our way through season two of Battlestar Galactica. Her choice was The Iron Giant, one of my all time favorite animated films.

This is probably my third time watching it, and I still love it.

The Iron Giant is one of those rare classics that works on multiple levels so that it can be enjoyed by both children and adults. It doesn't resort to cheap humor, or cheesy pop-culture references. The story revolves around a giant metal robot that falls to earth and befriends a boy in the 1950's Cold War era of Sputnik and "Duck and Cover".

The story is well told, and the animation and attention to detail is stunning. This is a beautiful movie, clearly made with intense love. It reminds me of the animated works of Miyazaki.

Director Brad Bird went on to direct The Incredibles, also an amazing movie. And his newest movie is just now out -- Ratatouille. I think I need to see that ASAP.

Rating: 5 stars...

The goal of Geek Week out here in the Black Rock Desert is to load test the WiFi network that will be deployed for Burning Man in August.

Someone out here put the network to the test yesterday by downloading a bootleg copy of the just released Transformers movie - and late last night after most of the fireworks had died down, well over a dozen people attended the Black Rock City premiere.

It was totally surreal to be sitting out munching popcorn in a dessert watching a just-released movie on a big outdoor projection screen. Cherie dozed asleep on my lap while we watched, only to be stirred awake periodically by the sound of flame throwers, explosions, and buzzing glowing UFOs overhead.

Oh - and those sounds weren't coming from the movie BTW... *grin*

The movie itself absolutely sucked. The plot wasn't even worthy of a cartoon episode. The special effects were rather run of the mill. And the acting and dialog??? *ugh*

But even thought the movie sucked, you sure couldn't beat the coolness of the theater.

Rating: 1 star...

I've probably watched the documentary "Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock" a dozen times in the past year and a half since I first got the DVD. Every time it leaves me pumped up, inspired, and even in tears. I love to share this movie, and it is one of the few DVD's I have along with me as I travel.

Tonight I showed it to Steve and Jeannie. I think they were impressed. *grin*

Beyond Black Rock starts with a brief glimpse of Burning Man 2002, and then follows several artists and the Burning Man organization as the energy builds towards Burning Man 2003. The pacing, directing, editing, and score of this documentary are amazingly well done. The music and energy just keep building as the days count down towards the burn - with glimpses of the city coming together in the dessert interspersed with interviews of the artists and participants.

I was part of Black Rock City in 2003 (also '99, '00, '04, and '05) and I love catching glimpses of some of the art that moved me.

The segments on Peter Best and the massive temples he builds (and burns) in particular leave me in tears every time. It is probably impossible to explain if you haven't been there - but his temples are as spiritually powerful and genuine as even the greatest gothic cathedrals.

If you have never been to Burning Man - nothing else comes as close as Beyond Black Rock in capturing its spirit and explaining just what it is all about. And if you have been - you'll find yourself itching to get back and taste the playa after seeing this.

Never before in the history of humanity has so much creative energy been unleashed in such a short span of time by such a large number of people as happens every year at Burning Man. I can hardly imagine ever missing it - and I can't wait for Burning Man 2006!

Rating: 5+ Stars!

Lindsay took me out to see the Al Gore environmental documentary An Inconvenient Truth tonight.

Go see this movie. Right now.

Al Gore is clearly passionate, articulate, and knowledgeable about the subject of global warming - and it is not an "issue of the day" for him. He has been giving essentially the same powerpoint presentation for 20 years now - and he has made raising awareness his full-time crusade since losing the election in 2000.

And that's what this movie essentially is - a 90 minute presentation given by Al Gore on the evidence pointing towards global warming and the resulting imminent environmental catastrophe.

And he makes a very compelling case.

I tend not to be much of an alarmist - and I do think that we as a human raise can and will prove ourselves worthy caretakers of this planet before things get too out of hand. But - time is of essence. And this movie is a powerful nudge to get us all moving in the right direction.

Really - go see this movie. And tell everyone you know to go see this movie.
It will give you more to contemplate than most anything else you will see this year. These changes are coming in our lifetimes, and this will be our fight to win or lose.

Rating: 5 stars. One earth.

I had a great time walking around San Luis Obispo last nigh with my friend dandyloo, and late in the evening we managed a rendezvous for some frozen yogurt with Lindsay and Sean who were also in SLO for Sean's sister's graduation this weekend. After the yogurt was packed away - we all decided to head out to see whatever movie happened to be playing next at the nearby Palms art-house theater.

The movie fate had in store for us was A Prairie Home Companion.

What a delight!

The movie chronicles in roughly real time the final live performance of the legendary Prairie Home Companion radio variety show before the historic Fitzgerald Theater is due to be torn down by its new owners. But - "every performance is your last", so it really is no different than any other night. Or is it?

Robert Altman's skill as a director always blows me away - and this movie is masterfully made. There are dozens of amazingly long single takes without a cut, with the camera floating like a ghost through the chaos of the live theater and backstage. I kept pinching myself, wondering how on earth he managed to film and choreograph so many long scenes without a break. The use of mirrors is stunning too. Rather than using different camera angles to capture the reactions of different characters, dressing room mirrors and other reflective surfaces are used to capture angles and moments that look raw and real and more "live" than a scripted movie has any right being.

The cast is a stunning collection of masters. Garrison Keillor plays himself as the host, calm in the midst of the chaos. Meryl Streep is sublime as one of the singing Johnson sisters. And Woody Harrelson is hilarious as one of the two crude cowboys - belting out hilariously crude and cheesy dirty jokes and songs.

The movie is all about music, and the songs are playing non-stop throughout - fun and heartwarming.

The only thing I didn't really like about the movie was the "story" going on in the background - with an "angel", a private eye, and the axeman (Tommy Lee Jones) all running about on their various errands. These characters give the movie a necessary structure and dramatic arc, but in the end it felt more distraction than core.

But - this movie is a fun surprise and a delight regardless. Highly recommended!

Rating: 4 stars!

Lyle and I ran out to catch The Davinci Code at the Scott's Valley Cinema on Monday night. We had to rush to make it on time, but once there we actually ended up being the only two in the entire theater. That was a weird experience - I'm not sure I've ever had an entire theater to myself before.

I could say something here about misery loving company and wishing there were more folks to share the pain, but while the movie was rather disappointing - at least it wasn't painful.

But it was far from good.

The Davinci Code book was a fun read. The best part about it was the constant sense of high stakes - the greatest secret in the world is about to be lost for all time if the heros don't prevail. But in the end, the entire secret and the chain of clues leading to it all ends up to be rather pointless. (Ask me to explain if it isn't blindingly obvious to you...) But even if the ending was disappointing - at least the chase getting there was fun.

But the movie failed to capture this sense of urgency for me. I know what it is like to stay up all night solving cryptic puzzles while racing from one amazing location to the next, and the movie does not capture any of that energy. And the puzzles guarding "the greatest secret of all time" are actually rather simple - I guess understandable considering the mainstream audience.

The other great thing about the book is the gushing descriptions of the art and locations. The movie could have easily been a celebration of art and architecture, but you only ever get the tiniest glimpses of either. Very disappointing.

And finally, the acting... *sigh* Tom Hanks does a good job acting like a piece of wood - I hope that is what he is going for. The rest of the cast was equally as dull, other than the character of Tebing (played by Ian McKellen) who is passionate and mad.

The Davinci Code could have been a great movie. It could have been a lushly beautiful movie. It could have been a kinetic adrenaline rush movie.

It could have been worth $9.

Sadly, it was not.

If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and wait for the DVD!

Rating: 2 stars.