2009 saw an unusual change in the status quo. What were once edgy indie filmmakers soon turned to directors aiming for children’s entertainment that was raucous and quite unusual. First Wes Anderson and then Spike Jonze. That’s no caveat though as Jonze takes his knack for the surreal and the unusual and makes a family film that’s quite edgy. Never shying away from mild violence and scary images, Jonze adapts a famous children’s book in to one of the most fantastic piece of family filmmaking ever made. Displaying hints of danger, Jonze’s film is about unbridled childhood fun and the innocence that’s lost once confronted with the prospect of growing up. Do we all have to lose our imagination from a world that demands even children to leave childish things behind?
Tag Archives: Monsters
Treevenge (2009)
Well if zombies or robots weren’t the harbingers of the apocalypse then it seems only natural that we’d be invaded by pissed off Christmas trees tired of being decorated, pushed around, and inevitably shredded. Jason Eisener, the director of the faux movie trailer “Hobo with a Shotgun,” returns giving us more of a reason to like what he’s doing and what he’s intending to do with the independent film scene. Not only does the man’s style get sleeker and more stylish with every output, but he also knows how to push all the right buttons with clever fare like “Hobo” down to ridiculous material called “Treevenge.”
Dragonball: Evolution (2009)
Well, here’s the odd news. Director James Wong and Twentieth Century Fox seem to rely heavily on mimicking the “Spider-Man” movies by turning our hero Goku in to a new age Peter Parker who has immense power and responsibility with every reason not to use them on his foes; pair that with a Luke Skywalker death scene and you have a mélange of influences with no bond that keeps the film from falling apart from the seams. That is until the day comes when a force of evil conveniently gives his training a purpose. Had “Dragon Ball” been adorned with a different name and a completely different set of characters, it wouldn’t actually be so bad, but when you make the inevitable comparison to the anime, the flaws are quite obvious and ridiculous.
Feast II: Sloppy Seconds (2008)
As a product coming out of the gates of the Weinstein throes where they took a painfully mediocre television series and turned it in to a form of producing an honest to goodness horror film, “Feast” kicked my ass from here to Thailand as a truly great horror comedy with some bone breaking action, creepy horror, and genuine comedy that induced laughter whenever it damn well pleased. “Feast II” takes the same turns as the original did but this time with Gulager able to take his own twist and storytelling abilities and include his own usual suspects i.e. his wife and father who prominently featured in the first half of the sequel known as “Sloppy Seconds.”
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
I miss movies like these, fantastic fantasy films that influenced reading without giving us a PSA or shoving religion down our throats. I miss films like “Neverending Story” or “Dark Crystal” that explored a whole world beyond ours without watering down a story. “The Spiderwick Chronicles” is that throwback to the classic fantasy kids films with violence, suggestive language, and edgy action that kept the line between kids film and teen film very very thin. Surprisingly mixed in reviews upon its release, I am saddened that Mark Waters’ family fantasy flick wasn’t more universally embraced as it should have been.
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007)
Jack Brooks: Fuck man, I broke a bottle over my head once because I couldn’t open it! I mean, you know… that doesn’t even make any sense!
People were way too quick to write “Jack Brooks” off as some sort of “Buffy” clone when in actuality director Knautz never actually strives to gear his film in that vein. I for one hate “Buffy” so I was very immediate in my defense of the film, and more so after watching it. Director John Knautz’s horror comedy has some epic possibilities with a character almost as cool as Ashley Williams, because even on its small budget and obviously modest production it’s shocking in its ability to involve the viewer with dark comedy that’s actually funny, and horror that’s about as good as anything else being released.
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
After the unfair lambasting of the disgustingly underrated and under appreciated “Hulk” from director Ang Lee, I found myself brutally conflicted on Louis Leterrier’s reboot (Remake? Revision? Restart?), because frankly, it was an apology to fans on a movie that didn’t need one. Lee tried something new, and was punished for it. Sure, Leterrier goes for the obvious, he goes for the simplistic, he shoots for the predictable, but that doesn’t mean “The Incredible Hulk” isn’t an entertaining movie. While I will be faithful to Ang Lee’s vision of the Hulk, Leterrier puts up a good argument for his version, too.