I’ve seen a few movies lately that I think are better served as quick hit reviews than one of my full on blabber format.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is based on a comic book of the same name and is expertly directed by Edgar Wright (best known for Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). SP is about a young Canadian man and his trouble with ladies. He starts dating a High School girl and then meets Ramona Flowers who he immediately becomes infatuated with; love at first sight. But she has more than her own baggage in tow! Enter the 7 Evil Exes that Scott must defeat in order to be with Romona. The world of Scott Pilgrim is rooted in video game fantasy. Everyone is a fighting master, super powers aren’t out of the ordinary and there are a ton of video game/anime references. It has a very narrow market (as seen by the box office results) but it’s a really well made movie. I like Michael Cera as Scott, the whole cast is great really. The soundtrack is tops (I’m listening to it now) but I was really impressed by the direction and special FX. Every dime they spent can be seen on screen. The CG is fantastic, the editing and direction are just eye popping, there isn’t a single boring cut in the movie. The fight Choregraphy is some wild shit too! Expertly made, there was a tremendous amount of time and love put into the production. It really looks like a comic book come to life. I dug it more than I thought I would, it’s exciting and pretty funny at parts as well.
Batman: Under The Red Hood is a direct to DVD animated feature. It rocks. A great story that involves Robin and Nightwing that just gets better as it goes a long. I was completely enthralled when the end credits hit. Production values that fit Batman; great animation, fantastic soundtrack, really well written and a tasteful amount of violence. Batman and Joker have new voice actors which I was worried about, but it didn’t take me long to get used to them (John DiMaggio does an incredible Joker laugh). Highly recommended for Batman fans.
The Princess and The Frog– I haven’t seen an animated Disney movie in awhile and this one was pretty good! Loved the animation, there is some crazy set pieces (mostly for the music numbers) with eye popping color work. It takes place in New Orleans so there is Jazz running all over the place which I really enjoyed. The songs are all pretty catchy (Dr. Facilier’s number being my favorite). The story is pretty standard fairy tale fare with a slight twist. Instead of the prince turning back into a man with a kiss, the girl gets turned into a frog which of course leads to a wild journey of danger and self enlightenment with a batch of colorful characters (Raymond the firefly rules). Good times.