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Mpls, MN, United States

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Sunday, January 10, 2010

Foxy!

Last night, David and I went with friends to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox at the Riverview. I LOVED it. I'm a pretty big Wes Anderson fan anyway, and had really enjoyed others of his recent films, like the Darjeeling Limited, but this was particularly delightful. There were a lot of kids in the audience--it was a matinee on a dreadfully cold weekend--but it really wasn't a kids' movie. Certainly there were things for them to enjoy, and aspects of the film definitely awed and inspired my inner kid, like the sheer joy of the tiny sets, and goofy little visual touches like the beagles' eyes after they ate the blueberries, but most of the themes were, predictably I suppose, targeted to an adult audience.

Anyway, like I said, I loved it. I loved Clooney as Foxy, and Schwarzmann as his son Ash, and Bill Murray as Badger. It was beautifully executed, surprisingly touching, and full of wonderfully quotable lines (which, sadly, I can't remember, and with which IMDB is not helping much. I do remember that their avoidance of cussing was pure genius, though I'll let you discover that for yourself if you haven't already).

This afternoon, I saw a film about which I have more mixed feelings: Avatar. I was going to blog about it tonight, but find that I'm too tired; it will have to wait.

In the meantime, I whole-heartedly recommend Mr. Fox, and suggest seeing it on the big screen if possible (especially if you have an adorable second-run theater like mine!).

5 comments:

m said...

oh, thank you for reminding me that i want to see that! i'm so bad at keeping up with movies.

trappi!

Leah said...

Yeah, me too. I've meant to see that, though we don't have any "adorable second run movies" around here. Come to think of it, there aren't many multiplexes either. Weird.

CëRïSë said...

I hope you both enjoy it!

And Leah, there was a really interesting NEA study a few years ago about literary reading in America, and how readers were more likely to do other things--vote, volunteer, go to plays, etc., and even go to movies. I remember hearing (when I lived there!) that Louisiana had the lowest literacy rate in the nation; I wonder if there could be a correlation there?

BrianV said...

I just had another friend recommending this to me. Liesl and I will have to check it out once it's on NetFlix. Wes Anderson is definately an interesting filmmaker. I liked Royal Tennenbaums, and also have seen Darjeeling Limited, though I was mixed on that one.

I would be interested in your thoughts on Avatar. I liked it, though I admit that it's appeal was almost entirely in the visual aspects. The visuals were enough to engage me, though, that's for sure. It didn't need much else. But I have to wonder if, like Titanic, it seems great in the moment, but has to potential to lose appreciation very quickly as it's groundbreaking special effects are matched and eventually surpassed by future films. I guess it will still have some historical value as a giant leap forward in animation and visual effects.

CëRïSë said...

Brian, I do still plan to write about Avatar; that post is percolating. If at all possible, I'd try to see Mr. Fox on the big screen; David downloaded a copy (shh) that we watched again last night, and there were small details that didn't translate quite as well to the smaller screen. The advantage to Netflix, though, is that you'll be able to watch it repeatedly! I thought it was maybe even better the second time.