Bolt

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Bolt
  • IMDB: link

“If I stare at the lock long enough it will burst into flames.”
“Now I’m concerned on a number of levels.”

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve used the word impressed to describe a Disney animated film.  Bolt proves two things: 1) Disney bringing Pixar into the fold was a very smart move and is starting to bear fruit, and 2) the Magic Kingdom may still have a little fairy dust left after all.  Bolt is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.

Bolt (John Travolta) is a super-dog whose powers include laserbeams which shoot out of his eyes and a super-bark which can take out an entire army of Dr. Calico’s (Malcom McDowell) evil agents.  There’s just one thing, none of it is real.

Bolt is the star of a television show and believes the special effects done during the scenes are his own doing.  When the script calls for his owner Penny (Miley Cyrus) to be abducted Bolt breaks out of the studio and finds himself in a world which he is ill-prepared for.

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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
  • IMDB: link

The lens of childhood innocence is a powerful method to shine light on many subjects.  In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas the son of a Concentration Commandant befriends a young Jew in the “farm” next door.  As events slowly unfold young Bruno (Asa Butterfield) discovers the world isn’t the simple place he once believed.

Bruno is a normal 8 year-old boy with a loving mother (Vera Farmiga), a protective older sister (Amber Beattie), and a father (David Thewlis) who he is proud of.  Oh, did I forget to mention that the film is set in Germany during WWII and Bruno’s father is an SS officer?

When his father takes a promotion the family moves from Berlin to a fortified house in the country, near what Bruno takes for a farm filled with strange people in striped pajamas.  When he inquires about the new neighbors Bruno is ordered to stay far away, which, for a inquisitive, curious 8 year-old, is the perfect temptation.

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Twilight

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Twilight
  • IMDB: link

Capturing the sparkle of a diamond in the rough Twilight accomplishes its destiny. Twilight is a film to be reckoned with amongst teenage girls and fans of the novel series; even though it is not great, I would say it’s handsome nonetheless. The film itself is awkward and lacking a bit of finesse, but isn’t a monstrosity.

Twilight pulls on the uncomfortable realities in moving to a new school, state for that matter, and making new friends. It captures the awkwardness of first love and peaks our interests with a new perspective and persona for a vampire, a vegan vampire. No sharp pointy fangs, no spattering of blood and a complete lack of conformity for monster like features and going up in flames.

The film jumps from what could have been this generation’s The Lost Boys and moves into a better attempt at supernatural love and teenage interest than Blood and Chocolate or The Covenant.

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Synecdoche

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Synecdoche, New York
  • IMDB: link

“Knowing that you don’t know is the first essential step to knowing, you know?”

Caden (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a theater director dealing with a myriad of problems, both physical and emotional which includes his inability to understand the passage of time (he can’t tell the difference between a few weeks and a few years), postules, eye and teeth issues, and his unsuccessful relationships with women (Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, and others).

Into this dysfunctional existence comes a MacArthur genius grant (seemingly funded until the end of time) which allows Caden to create his own masterpiece.  Decades later the project takes up several square blocks, employs hundreds, has become a mirror to Caden’s failures (complete with extras who begin playing the extras, who have now themselves become characters in the play), and is no closer to being finished.

That’s about all I can tell you about the plot since its dreamlike nature makes it hard to say how much, or how little, is reality or Caden’s wild imaginings.

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Make Mine Elite

/ / Announcements

Heads up Kansas City comic fans!  This Saturday, November 22nd, Elite Comics is celebrating 15 years with a Warehouse Sale just for you including 20,000 comics priced as if Jimmy Carter were still President.  You can also expect to find toys, action figures, free giveaways, and special guests including Matt Fraction, B. Clay Moore, Jai Nitz, and others.  Who knows, maybe you’ll run into either teh monkey or me, too.  Elite Comics is located at 11842 Quivira Rd.

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