Seeing District 9 was bound to be an adventure. First and foremost because one of my favorite filmmakers, Peter Jackson, had a hand in bringing it to the screen, but secondly because I did something that I am not sure I have ever done in my adult life: I saw this film without having seen a trailer for it. And I’m a trailer junkie!
It certainly did not start out intentionally. I had not really heard anything about the movie until I read some coverage of Peter Jackson being at ComiCon on The One Ring dot Net site, and even then I got distracted and did not go check out a trailer, nor have I read anything about the film. I had seen the movie poster, and that was it. When I realized that fact earlier this week, I determined not to see a trailer, nor to discuss the film with anyone, so that I could go in entirely cold! And, in celebration of my friend James’ birthday, that is just what I did.
Some days you wake up and make what seems to be a simple decision, one hardly worth mentioning, and it turns out to be a choice that opens the door to a wonderful experience. While dawn was still breaking over Kansas City this morning, my sleep-addled brain brought forth the idea of taking advantage of my daughter’s return to work to take my wife out on a date to see Julie & Julia.
I took a stance the moment that it was announced that Star Trek would be returning to the big screen featuring the cast of characters that I have loved since childhood: I don’t like it. I’m not happy about it. But I’ll see it opening weekend. And if it turns out to be great, I’ll be the first to sing its praises.
If anyone knows where I can rent a full orchestra for reasonable prices, please feel free to forward the information to me. I am ready to take the stage, and sing I will…loudly and boldly and enthusiastically.
For a non-spoiler review of quite possibly the greatest Star Trek film ever, engage…
Coraline Jones craves something more. Distracted parents and a recent move to a rather dilapidated apartment house in the middle of nowhere have given birth to boredom with a capital B. The discovery of a small locked door should provide Coraline with just the adventure that she needs, that is, until her mother opens it to reveal nothing more exciting than a brick wall. An early bedtime after an uninspiring meal is merely the icing on the cake of a very dull day. What more perfect time for the real adventure to begin?! A small mouse reveals that there is much more to that little door than meets the eye and Coraline will soon learn that very important truism:
There are many wonderful things about movies. One of them is that every so often one finds a director whose every film becomes a ‘must see’. Danny Boyle is becoming one of those directors. For me it began with 28 Days Later (and no, I haven’t seen his most lauded film, Trainspotting. I know…). Boyle took a zombie film and made it art. Each successive film has raised his estimation in my eyes: Millions, Sunshine, and now Slumdog Millionaire. I have enjoyed them all. Boyle has proven himself a director with the kind of varied interests that make his next moves impossible to predict. I like that.
The multiple-award-winning Slumdog Millionaire is a timely, feel good film that rises above its sentimentality to become something really special.
