The Drop (8/10): Tom Hardy delivers an outstanding performance in this criminal thriller

“There are some sins that you commit that you can't come back from, you know, no matter how hard you try. You just can't.”

The Drop is my kind of film and that is why I am able to look past the predictability of the story and simply enjoy the movie for what it is: a low level gangster film with an outstanding cast. If you are the kind of person who prefers spectacular car chases and heavy shooting in thrillers than The Drop definitely isn’t for you because it is a slow burner that requires patience from the viewers. It is more interested in establishing who these characters are and setting the atmosphere and tone of the movie than in focusing on the action scenes. It doesn’t discard the banality of these gangsters day to day life so at times the viewer might feel that it is an ordinary and boring film, but if you stick with the story the ending definitely pays off. I enjoyed that slow buildup and didn’t mind it at all because I loved how the story focused on Tom Hardy’s character arc and was drawn to his performance. The Drop is based on Dennis Lehane’s short story, Animal Resuce, and the screenplay was also adapted by him so I had confidence in the story that was being told. Lehane has written some of my favorite crime thrillers (Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River) so I knew he was going to deliver once again. It might just be another crime thriller that doesn’t stand out from other films in the genre, but if you are a fan of these stories you will have a great time with The Drop.  

The Drop is directed by Michael Roskam and despite not being as groundbreaking as his Oscar nominated Belgian film, Bullhead, it is still one of the best thrillers of the year thanks to the wonderful performances from the cast and the attention to details of the Brooklyn scene. In The Drop Tom Hardy stars as a lonely bartender named Bob. Along with his cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) they run things at a local bar as a cover for dangerous Chechen gangsters. This is just one of the many bars the Chechens use as a cover to drop off all the money from the night’s criminal activities in one place. There are some strong supporting performances from John Ortiz who plays a detective investigating a robbery that takes place in Marv’s bar, Noomi Rapace who thanks to the help of an abandoned puppy warms up to Bob’s lonely persona, and Matthias Schoenaerts a low life criminal trying to con Bob using the puppy. As you can tell the puppy plays an important role in this film and there is something symbolic about its presence in the way it changes Bob’s social life. It’s the cutest puppy I’ve seen on film this year.

The greatest thing about The Drop is without a doubt Tom Hardy’s lead performance. Hardy is establishing himself as my favorite actor. He is such a versatile actor and in this film he reminded me a lot Gosling’s character in Drive. He is sort of retracted and silent, but he conveys so much without saying anything. His character arc is what drives this film. Another reason to watch The Drop is that it’s James Gandolfini’s final performance. He passed away a month after having finished shooting this film. We’ve seen him play this role many times in the past, but he does it so well that I found it a fitting farewell. Schoenaerts is excellent and Rapace plays these dark roles to perfection. John Ortiz also has some interesting scenes and I was glad to see Ann Dowd have a small role as well. I wish she had more screen time. The Drop is worth watching for the cast alone, but it also has a smart screenplay and an interesting atmospheric tone. It’s short of being a masterpiece, but it still is a wonderful film.  

   
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My Review: True Romance (9/10)

"If you gave me a million years to ponder, I would never have guessed that true romance and Detroit would ever go together."

I would never have guessed that Tony Scott and Quentin Tarantino would ever go together, but what a pleasant surprise this romantic crime thriller turned out to be. Thanks to a sharp and witty script and entertaining characters True Romance was extremely cool. The best way I can describe this film is to take Patricia Arquette's character's words and sound like a broken record: all I could think of while watching this film was Quentin Tarantino you are so cool; Tony Scott you are so cool; every single actor in this film you are so cool, True Romance you are so cool. I can't believe I had to wait 21 years to get around to watching this considering how big of a Quentin Tarantino fan I am (and I'm also a huge fan of Tony Scott's work in Man on Fire). Tarantino's energetic script and Scott's stylized direction blended perfectly in this near masterpiece. The cast is absolutely brilliant here and there are so many memorable characters and scenes in this film. I think I enjoyed this film more watching it for the first time now than if I would have seen it in 1993 considering there are so many familiar faces that I probably wouldn't have recognized back then. Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Samuel L. Jackson, James Gandolfini, and Chris Penn all have small but memorable roles. Oldman is barely recognizable playing a pimp with dreadlocks and a glass eye, but it is a unique performance. Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette give the performance of their careers here; it's a shame Slater has been in so many terrible films in the past decade because his performance here was promising. Arquette is adorable as Alabama and I can't think of another sweeter performance than hers. There is so much energy and charm in this film that it's hard to resist. Like good wine, True Romance will probably age better over time considering I couldn't believe how much fun I was having watching an early 90's film for the first time. True Romance you are so cool!

Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) is a comic book store clerk who also happens to be a martial arts film buff. He plans to spend his birthday as he always does, at the movies, watching a triple feature of Sonny Chiba. What he doesn't expect is that he will find the love of his life there. While he is watching the film, a pretty woman walks into the theater spilling her popcorn all over him. She apologizes and introduces herself as Alabama (Patricia Arquette). The two fall in love with each other after she opens up to him about her true identity. This leads them through a series of dangerous adventures involving pimps (Gary Oldman), the Sicilian mafia (Christopher Walken, James Gandolfini), drug dealers (Samuel L. Jackson), police officials (Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore), and Hollywood producers (Saul Rubinek, Bronson Pinchot). The film is full of energy and thrills as the two lovers face several obstacles along the way. Thankfully, Clarence seems to have a mentor on his side to guide him: an apparition of his idol Elvis Presley (Val Kilmer) who is sort of his conscious.

Even if you aren't a huge fan of Tarantino you could still enjoy True Romance for all the beloved actors in this film that weren't probably big Hollywood names back then. The film moves so quickly and the script is so energetic that It makes for a very entertaining watch. There are so many memorable scenes in this film, like the face off between Gary Oldman and Christian Slater, the group mexican standoff, and the violent hotel scene involving Gandolfini and Arquette, but the real scene stealer would have to be the one in which Dennis Hopper, who plays Clarence's father, is ambushed by Christopher Walken and his gang and they have a not so friendly chat about Sicilians. It was a pure Tarantino moment and there are a lot of these great dialogues that allow for the film to have such a great pace and move along so nicely. The style and characters in this film make it such a unique experience and film lovers will enjoy the Hollywood satire as well. I am so glad I finally got to see this wild and romantic film. This is another reason why Tony Scott will be missed.

My Review: Enough Said (8/10)

"I've been listening to this woman say the worst things about the guy I'm starting to really like." 

Directed and written by Nicole Holofcener (Friends With Money and Please Give), Enough Said is a charming middle aged rom com that benefits from an incredible chemistry between James Gandolfini and Julia-Louis Dreyfus and a witty script. At first I had a hard time separating Julia's character from her sitcom roles, but eventually she began growing on me and I ended up enjoying her performance. The true highlight of the film however was the late James Gandolfini's performance. He was absolutely charming and delivers on a completely different range than what he showed in The Sopranos or most of his other film roles. Here he plays a very sympathetic and sweet middle aged divorced father who is having a hard time accepting the fact that his daughter is leaving for college. It was one of his best performances and he deserves all the accolades he's been receiving. Enough Said is one of those rare mature comedies that delivers authentic moments. It's a realistic and warm film that adults will enjoy. People who say that they don't make films for middle aged adults anymore should check this out. I am glad Holofcener is receiving so much love for this film because it's good to have a strong female voice in Hollywood. This is a film for grown ups about second chances and finding love after having failed in the past.

Eva (Julia-Louis Dreyfus) is a divorced middle aged mother who works as a masseuse. Her daughter is about to leave for college and so she's beginning to feel the void her absence will cause. After going to a party with her married friends, Sarah (Toni Collette) and Will (Ben Falcone), she meets Albert (James Gandolfini) a divorced father who is going through a similar experience with her daughter. The two hit off pretty well and begin dating. At the same party Eva also meets Marianne (Catherine Keener), and she becomes one of her clients. Eva quickly becomes friends with her admiring her style and good taste, but when she discovers that Albert was her ex-husband who she speaks terribly of, she begins having second thoughts about starting a relationship with him. She continues to date Albert and befriend Marianne without ever telling them about each other while she tries to make up her mind about giving love a second chance.

This romantic comedy drama is charming without ever being unauthentic or ringing false. It seems to hit all the right notes at the right time. I loved the scenes that Gandolfini and Dreyfus shared together, especially their first date. The scenes they shared together sitting on his front porch were also very touching and charming. Toni Collette's accent in this film felt a bit out of place, but I enjoyed the rest of the performances and every character was developed pretty well. The film does say something important about the power behind words and how much the opinion of someone we admire affects us in the way we perceive others and make decisions about them. Despite how much Eva liked Albert she let Marianne's perception of him influence her in the way she saw him. Enough Said is just one of those warm films that are hard to resist. Gandolfini truly shines here.

My Review: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (4/10)

¨Prepare to get your brain raped.¨

Director Don Scardino got to work with Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, and Steve Buscemi in his latest comedy. He also signed James Gandolfini and Alan Arkin for secondary roles. It doesn’t get any better than that comedy wise, but somehow the film failed to deliver big laughs and it settled for a formulaic genre instead. It has to be more difficult to do a bad movie than a good one considering the great cast Scardino had to work with, but the direction and the script failed completely so the film managed to do the impossible: turn funny actors into mediocre ones. This year has been pretty bad for comedies so far, and I had expectations for this film but it completely derails from the very beginning considering how unlikeable Steve Carell´s character is. This movie can be used in film classes everywhere to show the students how they can make a bad film with great actors. Jim Carrey is the only actor that really stands out in this film and it made you wish the film centered on his character which was a clever satiric portrayal of street magician Criss Angel. Other than that, the film lacks laughs and heart, and by the time the credits begin to role you are happy it got over with. The four writers involved in the screenplay couldn’t come up with a decent story and the jokes fell flat. It is a shame, because they had a stellar cast to work with and didn’t take advantage of them. Even the beautiful Olivia Wilde was underused and her character had nothing to offer.

Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and his best friend, Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) have been doing magic tricks together since they were kids. A wealthy Las Vegas Casino owner, Doug Munny (James Gandolfini), falls in love with their show and offers them a huge contract to perform at his casino. As the years go by, Burt and Anton become famous, but somehow fame and wealth have taken a toll on their friendship. Burt doesn’t care anymore about magic, and all he seems to be thinking of is getting the show over with and getting one of the girls from the audience to his bed. The only thing that has grown over time has been his personal ego. In the meantime, a street magician named Steve Gray (Jim Carrey) has begun to take the world by storm with his dangerous and bloody tricks. People have grown tired of Burt and Anton´s show which has remained the same for years, and Doug decides to end their contract with him. Burt and Anton each go their separate ways, and their fame soon fades away. Bankrupt, Burt decides to live at a retirement home, where he meets former magician Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin), who was his childhood idol. Rance reminds Burt about the joy of being a magician and all of a sudden his life begins to turn around. With the help of his former assistant, Jane (Olivia Wilde), Burt decides to try to return to his former glory, but is it too late now that the world has its eyes on Steve Gray?

I sort of felt the same way about this film like the way Burt and Anton´s characters felt about Steve Gray in that they said that what he was doing wasn’t really magic. They were just some distasteful tricks he was pulling off. In the same way this comedy can´t actually be called a film, it is just a bunch of distasteful and unfunny scenes one after another. Carell´s character is so egocentric and unlikeable that it doesn’t make much sense really why his assistant still stuck around him. By the time he turns his life around it is just a little too late for the audience to relate and like his character. I really didn’t care much for what happened to him. The film could have focused more on Carrey´s character who in my opinion does one of his funniest roles in a long time. The best thing about this film is his character and the few scenes he is in. It wouldn’t be a bad idea if the producers decide to make a spin off and make a film about him, although this film did so badly at the box office that they probably won´t want to take the risk. There is no magic whatsoever in this film, and I recommend you stay away from it.  

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My Review: Zero Dark Thirty (9/10)

¨I’m going to smoke everyone involved in the op and then I’m going to kill Osama bin Laden.¨

The passion, determination, and single-minded pursuit of a female CIA operative to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden was the film that the Academy Award winning writer and director decided to pursue after their success in The Hurt Locker. Zero Dark Thirty is so intense and suspenseful that you just want Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal to continue working together forever. They make other modern war films look really bad when held up to the standards of their recent work together. Bigelow has developed such a craft and expertise as a filmmaker that during some moments of the film (especially the final 25 minute raid) you feel like you are watching a documentary of actual footage of the manhunt instead of a fictional film. She is as passionate about her work as her lead character is obsessed with hunting down this man. We can’t argue that Bigelow benefits from Boal’s extraordinary script, which manages to reduce a decade long hunt into 150 minutes of detailed procedural work without taking political sides or focusing on revenge nonsense. It just takes such a realist approach that you never feel manipulated by Bigelow which would have been easy to do considering the subject matter. This is in my opinion the best film dealing with pos 9-11 events thanks to Bigelow’s ability to remain emotionally detached and focus on her craft. Under the weight of the heavy subject matter, she somehow manages to make this film more about a character study than an actual manhunt. There is really one main character in this film as the rest of characters come and go, and without delving into her past and focusing on the decade long pursuit of bin Laden the story centers around her, and it is a very interesting psychological study of what motivates her. Jessica Chastain is just so fascinating in this film, that she single handedly carries this movie and gives the best performance of her career.

The film opens in black with several voiceovers of calls from the World Trade center during the 9-11 attacks. It is a very emotional opening scene as we later are introduced to the main character, Maya (Jessica Chastain), who has been sent to Pakistan by the CIA to hunt down bin Laden. The first place we see her is in an interrogation room where her partner Dan (Jason Clarke) is torturing a terrorist prisoner in order to find information of the whereabouts of bin Laden. Maya isn’t amused by the torture that is going on and doesn’t participate, but she is willing to accept any means necessary in order to unlock the truth and hunt down the man she’s obsessed with finding. Of all the prisoners they have interrogated there seems to be one man that is mentioned by everyone: Abu Ahmed.  Maya is convinced that this man is bin Laden’s personal courier and that if she can locate him then she will locate his leader. Her boss, Joseph Bradley (Kyle Chandler) isn’t convinced about this theory, but Maya is determined to pursue this lead. The entire film is a very detailed procedural drama of how Maya follows one lead after another (with several false and disappointing leads along the way) until she is able to locate the whereabouts of bin Laden. Her next mission is to convince the authorities that bin Laden is actually hidden in that complex without having definite proof, but her certainty ends up convincing the leaders to send the US Navy SEALS team led by Patrick (Joel Edgerton) to attack the compound and kill bin Laden.

There were a great amount of talented actors cast in this film such as James Gandolfini, Mark Strong, Edgar Ramirez, Mark Duplass, Frank Grillo, and Chris Platt, but they had very few scenes and the entire film centered on Jessica Chastain. She deserves an Oscar for her performance here, and Mark Boal deserves one for Best Screenplay. The entire film is a character study on Maya as her entire life revolves around catching this man. We see it in her eyes from the very opening scene to the very end where instead of experiencing joy for the success she had, all we can see is a sigh of relief. What comes next for Maya? She doesn’t even know as she was so focused and determined on one thing only. I love Bigelow’s style and how she downsizes the entire war and centers everything on one central character. Just like she did in The Hurt Locker where the focus is on Renner’s character and how the adrenaline of war has become an addiction for him; now the focus is on Chastain who is very driven and obsessed with accomplishing her goal. There is not anything else on her mind; it’s as if she lives for one specific purpose. In the end you don’t know if you should cheer for her or feel sorry that her work is done. In a way I felt Bigelow’s approach to the events that led to bin Laden’s death to be very powerful; and it has raised a lot of discussions about torture, but that is exactly what a great film should do: bring up conversations and make us question things at times. After a decade long manhunt, was it really a triumph to kill bin Laden? Was it worth a celebration? Does the end justify the means? Without taking sides Bigelow makes us think about these issues and that is what good movies do for the viewers.    

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My Review: Killing Them Softly (5/10)

¨This guy wants to tell me we're living in a community? Don't make me laugh. I'm living in America, and in America you're on your own. America's not a country. It's just a business.¨

Killing Them Softly is Andrew Dominik’s latest film which was nominated for the Palme d’Or in last year’s Cannes film festival. I really had high expectations for this film, but was disappointed with this noir action film. The entire film was a political allegory, but I really didn’t enjoy it all, and felt the political messages were a little too heavy and tiring. The highlight of Killing Them Softly was Brad Pitt’s performance, but in the first half of the film he gets very little screen time. This is the second time that Pitt works with Dominik after having worked with him in the critically acclaimed The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. That film was more beautifully shot in my opinion, but of course this being a sort of noir film the cinematography was much dirtier. It was shot using Kodak’s 500T 5230 film stock which gave the film a much darker and grayish tone to help set the mood of the story. Killing Them Softly was loosely based on George V. Higgins novel, Cogan’s Trade, and adapted for the screen by Dominik himself. The film has a lot of dialogues going on and little action, which isn’t exactly a problem for me considering I enjoy Tarantino films, but the dialogues in this movie were just not that entertaining, and the characters weren’t really memorable. Dominik was forcefully giving the film a political message and it was just too heavy handed for my taste, but I know many people enjoyed it so I can’t say Dominik failed. I’m simply not into political movies so I didn’t appreciate this very much. If you enjoy politics then you might appreciate the political allegory behind this action thriller, which in my opinion didn’t add anything new to the genre. It was very predictable.

Johnny Amato (Vincent Curatola) hires two amateur criminals, Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) to perform a heist at a Mob poker ring operating in New Orleans. Markie (Ray Liotta) is the proprietor of the place, and when the two amateurs rob him, the mafia blames Markie for the heist since he has had a similar history in the past and the local criminal economy has collapsed. The mafia’s messenger is played by Richard Jenkins who we only know as the driver. He hires a hitman named Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) to kill everyone responsible for the heist in order for balance to be restored amongst the mob world. While all these situations are taking place we have several voiceovers playing in the background (television or radio ads) with political messages from Bush and Obama, in order to make sure the viewer understands the political allegory that is taking place here. The plot is pretty simple and not much happens between each dialogue that is taking place. James Gandolfini also has a funny role in this film as an alcoholic hitman.

The true star of the film is Brad Pitt who delivers each line in a very cool way without overdoing himself or going overboard with his character. He seems like a man who is in control. In one of his speeches he mentions how he doesn’t like it when his victims get all touchy and feely about being killed so he prefers killing them softly from a distance, thus the title for the film. That line and the last one he shares with the driver are perhaps the best scenes in this movie. I also have to say that Scoot McNairy gave a pretty good performance in the supporting role. He really seems like the main character of the film during the first half and he gives a solid performance. I really wasn’t familiar with his work although I do realize he was in Argo, but had very little screen time there. Overall I really was disappointed with this film and felt it didn’t present anything new to the neo-noir genre. There were few action scenes, but I really didn’t care much for the characters so I wasn’t immersed into this world that Dominik was trying to suck us into.

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My Review: In the Loop (8/10)

¨Now I may not believe in that and you may not believe in that, but it makes for a useful hypocrisy¨

In the Loop is a very smart political satire about British and American involvement in the Middle East. The film has many laugh out loud moments and very memorable quotes; it is just beautifully written. Many people may wonder what led these two nations to invade Iraq and this is perhaps not the real reason, but it does touch our funny bone and it`s probably true that many political figures put themselves first and didn`t want to lose their position of power instead of focusing on the real issue at hand. Armando Ianucci, who is mostly known in the UK for his TV series ¨In The Thick of It¨ which is also a political satire that stars Peter Capaldi as Malcolm, directs this brilliant comedy. He also was involved with the screenplay along with Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche, and Ian Martin, who all colaborate with him in The Thick of It. In the Loop was nominated for an Oscar for best adapted screenplay and in my opinion it should have won because it was very witty and pulls off some great one liners. This film proves once again that the British are ahead of the Americans in satire, especially political satire. The movie moves really fast, the dialogue is great, and you might find yourself laughing at jokes the second time around that you had missed the first time because In the Loop drops one joke after another at a very fast rate. The performances are great as well; everyone knows that you can`t make people laugh only with a good script, you need to have capable actors that can deliver those funny lines and that is the case with this movie.

The movie opens in middle of an international conflict. There are talks of war in the Middle East and there are anti and pro war groups in both countries. The young British minister for International Development, Simon Foster (Tom Hollander from Pride and Prejudice), is strongly against war, but he really doesn`t know what he is doing and in a recent interview he declares that ¨war is unforseeable.¨ This vague statement wins him friends on both the pro and anti war sides who want to use him to swing the vote in the UN comittee. Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi who plays the same role in the series In the Thick of It) is the Prime Minister`s communiations chief and he is not very happy about Simon`s statement. He tries to use Simon as a puppet and tell him what he should and shouldn`t say. Malcolm has a very aggresive style and drops the f-bomb in every sentence. Simon becomes a key player now and has to travel back and forth to Washington, UK, and NY along with his young assistant, Toby (Chris Addison) who is as clueless as he is on what is going on. The Americans on the anti-war side consist of the Assistant Secretary for Diplomacy, Karen Clarke (Mimi Kennedy), her assistant Liza (Anna Chlumsky from My Girl) who wrote a paper stating the pros and cons of war, and Lieutenant General George Miller (James Gandolfini), along with their staff. On the pro war side we have the US Assistant Secretary for Policy, Linton Barwick (David Rasche), who is forming a secret war comitee that Karen wants to get into and stop. They all seem to manipulate and leak information in order to get what they want.

The movie completely works because the characters deliver every line with perfect timing and the screenplay is just brilliant. The plot might be a little dificult to follow, but it is worth paying attention too. Peter Capaldi gives a very funny performance, although I have to warn you he is very foul mouthed. Every character in the film is manipulated by someone and at the same time is manipulating or intimidating someone else in order to mantain their position of power. They are not really concerned over the casualities of war, they are only concerned about losing credibility and power. There are several funny quotes that you will remember and the movie was just really well constructed. The filming might distract some as it uses a documentary style and shaky camera, but those who are familiar with The Office are already used to this style which gives it a more realistic feeling. Steve Coogan also shows up in the film as a secondary character and he gives a great performance as well. The scene with Coogan only serves to confirm how incompetent Simon really is. Overall the movie is a must see for those who like smart comedies, political satires, and are tired of all the cheap laughs and old familiar jokes of recent lazy comedies.

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My Review: Where The Wild Things Are (4/10)

¨It's going to be a place where only the things you want to happen, would happen. ¨

The only thing I wanted to happen while watching the highly appraised Where the Wild Things Are was for the movie to get over with. I found this film very boring and couldn`t identify with the characters. I understood the melancholic point the director was trying to get across, but I guess my childhood was nothing like that. I remember enjoying my childhood a lot and never feeling so philosophical and sad towards life like the main character felt. The first twenty minutes of the film you just feel so sorry for Max because he feels so ignored and misunderstood. I think this movie is a little too dark for kids to enjoy and a bit too imaginative for grownups to endure. Perhaps it is just me, but I found it very difficult to identify with Max. This film was directed by Spike Jonze, who is famous for directing several videos for musical bands, directing Adaptation and Being John Malkovich, and working as a writer for the Jackass series. This time he adapted Maurice Sendak`s classic children`s story. I haven`t read the story so I can`t say if it is faithful to the original material, but after watching this movie I am not even remotely interested in reading the story. The movie has a very sad and pessimistic feel to it, but at the same time it does feel artistic as well. The main problem I had with it is that I wasn`t being entertained and felt the movie was taking forever.

Where the Wild Things Are is a movie about a kid named Max who feels misunderstood and lonely. He doesn`t have many friends and spends most part of the day playing with his wolf suit and his dog. Max is played very well by the young Max Records (from The Brothers Bloom); he is very mature on screen and gives the best performance in this movie. His sister is a little older than him and she is going through the stage of dating boys and doesn`t pay too much attention to him. His mom (played by Catherine Keener from 40 Year Old Virgin fame) is a single mother who has to make time for work and the children. One night Max gets upset while his mother is downstairs with her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo from Zodiac) and he throws a tantrum because he doesn`t get what he wants and ends up bighting her. After this Max runs away from home and ends up imaginatively crossing an ocean and reaching an island full of strange creatures. Here he finds a group of them who are arguing with one because he is throwing a fit and destroying their homes because someone has left the group. Max decides to assist Carol, the creature who is destroying everything, because he identifies with him (Carol and Max are very similar in nature). The creatures at first want to eat Max, but he tells them he is a king and that he has special powers so the creatures decide to crown him king of the island as long as he takes away the sadness. He says he has a sadness shield that will keep sadness away from everyone so they all accept him. All the creatures have different emotions, one feels like no one ever listens to him, another is always upset and wants to eat people, and Carol who is the most similar to Max always has to get what he wants. In this new world, Max feels accepted and listened to, but he will soon find out that it isn`t easy to be king and will learn an important lesson in the process. The creatures are voiced by James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O`Hara, Forest Whitaker, Chris Cooper, Michael Berry Jr., and Lauren Ambrose.

I think this movie is too dark for kids to enjoy. Max Records does a great job of expressing these wide ranges of emotions a ten year old kid goes through, but the material is a bit too complicated for children. At least I couldn`t identify with what Max was going through as I remember my childhood more enjoyable and less philosophical. I think that Up is a movie that expresses these issues in a better light and that kids and grownups will enjoy much more. This film is very artistic, but you really feel sad for the kid right from the opening scene and the movie just feels too nostalgic and doesn`t seem to focus enough in the good moments we all have had in our childhood. When the movie began I was hoping it would get to the moment we were introduced to the creatures because I felt it was dragging too much, but then when we get to the creatures I was just waiting for the movie to end because I was bored and felt it was taking forever. I wouldn`t recommend this movie, although most people I have talked to have enjoyed it so you might want to check it out because it could have a different effect on you than it did on me.