Category: Watch

Or perhaps the lack thereof.

This new true-story cryfest defines the rags-to-riches version of the American dream. While it tugs at the heartstrings appropriately and makes you feel guilty for being middle class, it probably won’t leave you with any resonating emotion.

Chris Gardner (W. Smith) is a struggling salesman who is unable to support his family despite his extremely dedicated work ethic. When his family begins to crumble, he and his son (J. Smith) are forced to live on the streets while Chris works toward a better life for his family.

The movie overall, is most definitely a plus. It tells a story that isn’t too boring or too tragic, too obviously scripted or too funny. Will Smith and his real-life son Jayden Smith are able to pull off the perfect blend of a sad-but-true tale that never loses hope. The only reason that this story doesn’t leave the audience weeping in the aisles is because very few people can relate to the struggles the characters experience in the movie. This is the only real flaw; the film itself doesn’t affect the watcher on a personal level. You might leave saying, ‘That was such a nice movie, and wiping a tear from your eye,’ but that won’t change the fact that you steer clear of homeless men on the street.

For most moviegoers, The Pursuit of Happyness immerses you in a skillful retelling of someone else’s true story, leaving you with a sense of humble hope and nothing more.

When one thinks of the genre of animated movies the words ‘kid friendly’ probably pop-up. Apparently these words didn’t pop-up in Sony’s mind. At first Monster House appears to be a movie that could have easily been made with real actors rather than CGI. Then when the story starts to flesh out you realize that this movie isn’t really aimed towards children. Finally the movie becomes what could be a really cool video game.

Now saying all of that doesn’t mean that the movie is bad in anyway. In fact it was pleasantly enjoyable. Nothing about the movie screamed PIXAR perfection, but the story and characters proved to be intriguing.

The story follows a group of kids who spy on their crazy neighbor. When the neighbor has a heart-attack his house comes to life and eats anything that comes onto its yard. And such the adventure of destroying this monster house begins. The already kooky story is brought to life by its vivid characters.

I do have to question why the film was made in CGI. The majority of the film wouldn’t have been impossible to do with real-live actors. The style of the CGI was a little difficult to get used to because while the characters looked relatively realistic yet they were still cartoony. I do commend the cinematography in this film because some of the scenes were outstandingly shot.

Who would think that a house that eats people could be so entertaining? When the kids go to attack the house the visuals are fantastic. The movie becomes more like a video game. There was so much creativity that went into these scenes. Sometimes in movies the story begins to lag when the action occurs, but in Monster House the mystery behind the house becomes solved through these action sequences.

Overall Monster House is a surprisingly delightful movie, which for whatever reason is slightly twisted at some points. So just be forewarned if you have little kids watching it.

It’s hard for me to believe that I enjoyed this movie. It’s clearly a children’s (ahem, I mean “family”) film. A single father needs to find a wife so that his seven, very badly behaved children can remain together. Helping out is the magical Nanny McPhee, whose special tactics not only keep the children in line, but teach them the importance of manners and respect. How could I possibly enjoy a movie like this? They’re teaching etiquette for goodness sakes! There is a babysitter with witch-like power involved. This movie should not be anything I even like.

How did this come to be? Start off with Colin Firth (oh, he’s so dreamy) as Cedric Brown, the likable father trying to keep his family from falling apart. He even keeps his dead wife in the loop by looking to her memory for advice. Emma Thompson is the titular Nanny McPhee, and why the hell not, throw in Angela Lansbury as the evil Great Aunt Adelaide who is trying to split up the family. Their performances, while might not be the greatest of their lives at a critical level, are appropriate for this movie. They bring an air of fairy tale charm that helps to raise my appreciation for what might be an otherwise no enjoyable flick. The children’s acting is acceptable, but you can’t really expect too much from them, because, after all, they’re still just children. But still, totally acceptable.

Just because something is a family movie, it doesn’t mean you should rule it out. You should give this one a shot, I know I don’t regret it.