My Review: Her (8/10)

"She's not just a computer."

Her is a beautiful and melancholic film written and directed by Spike Jonze which benefits from a wonderful and sweet performance from Joaquin Phoenix (who goes through a 180 degree transformation from his disturbed and troubling character in The Master to this sympathetic one) and one of the best voice performances I've seen on screen from Scarlett Johansson. I wonder if this film would've worked without her considering that Samantha Morton was originally the voice of Samantha, and only during the editing process did Jonze feel something was missing and decided to recast Johansson. In a film like Her where the need for connection is vital, Jonze found it between Phoenix and Johansson creating a believable and unique love story. It is a touching film that the audience can identify with because it deals with universal themes such as trying to move on from past relationships that we thought would last forever and the void that's left from it. Phoenix captures that melancholy perfectly through his facial expressions contrasted with those flashback scenes where he seemed blissfuly in love. This need for connection is perfectly represented in this film, which also manages to introduce a social commentary as to where we seem to be heading with all the technological advances. The sci-fi elements work really well because we definitely seem to be heading towards this futuristic world and Jonze blends those elements with this beautiful and sad love story. Her is philosophical at times and despite turning into a pretty much standard love story halfway through the film it still manages to be a great meditation on our need as humans for establishing connections (and they no longer need to be human connections). Her is a genuinely nostalgic romantic film that manages to touch its audience and speak to the heart.

The story centers on Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) a letter writer who's been separated from his wife Catherine (Rooney Mara) for an year, but still hasn't found the strength to sign the divorce papers. He is very good at his job as he excels at expressing feelings through letters, but he's not doing so well at managing his own feelings around others. He is rather lonely and spends most of his time playing video games when he's not at work. He does have a very close friendship with his neighbors, Amy (Amy Adams) and Charles (Matt Letscher), especially with Amy as they both seem to share a sort of brother sisterly kind of love. His life turns around when he purchases a new artificially intelligent operating system, OS1, and immediately connects with Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), the voice behind the system. As they continue to spend more time together they begin falling in love with each other which excites Theodore because he's starting to feel alive again, but at the same time fills him with doubts and fears as he's conflicted about having a relationship with an operating system. Samantha also begins to grow intellectually as she experiences new things and is capable of having human emotions. Their unconventional love is what's explored in this film as the two connect and bond with each other.

Jonze has crafted a very unique and original story which I found to be a great psychological study on human relations. I wish I would've connected more with this film as I've found it to be on most of my friends top 10 lists for best films of the year, and despite liking this film quite a bit it still didn't manage to make my list. The premise is very interesting and Jonze directs this film masterfully, but I couldn't help and feel that halfway through the film it does become a rather conventional love story (at times it felt like a normal long distance relationship) with some familiar trials that couples go through. I actually never felt a true connection in their relationship until a key moment near the end of the film and that is where I really bought their love story. The elements I connected the most with where the nostalgic feelings of lost love as we got to see some interesting flashbacks between Theodore and Catherine. I also loved the score of this film, the music was lovely and touching. I also enjoyed the social commentary quite a bit which never felt forced. The scene where Theodore is worried about how he will be perceived by his friends for having a relationship like this and how relieved he is when Amy approves is proof that we not only seek connections in life, but we also search for social approval. It's a clever and melancholic film and one that we can all come out of experiencing something completely different (and that is a good thing).

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.