Like most good movies for children, this is also for adults. Have you ever longed to those care free days of childhood? I bet you have and I also bet you have sometimes wished you could still imagine all those places and things you played within your imagination when you were a child. Well worry no more, because Spike did the job for you – well actually Maurice Sendak did, but Jonze beautifully realized it on the silver screen. And that’s enough of Sendaks original picture book, because I don’t remember if I ever red it. I remember the wild things but that’s it. So this is a brand new story for me.

This one might cause some hiccups to follow through and I have a feeling it’s because it really doesn’t have a straightforward structure. But what did you expect from Spike. Though I think it is he’s most straightforward movie, it still isn’t plain “story of crowing up” nor doe’s it have great character development or  some arc that starts from somewhere and and up in another through obstacles and realizations. Its characters are portrayed in child’s perspective, their logics are more or less child’s logic and things that happen are portrayed in a way that they are seen through the mind of a child. But don’t get scared. Grownups will also have things for them, and you shouldn’t be afraid to jump in to a viewing point of a child. It starts from a certain setup and ends up in pretty much the same. And I think telling you that really isn’t spoiling it. Lot’s of things and emotions happen during the film.

And again we are beautifully reminded that CGI isn’t a necessity when you are dealing with things of imagination. The creatures are amazingly real and create true emotions. Music is a treat for those ones of you who like the softer independent side off of the mainstream. I liked it. At least it keeps the movie more in the right mood than blazing orchestra would have done.

What did we learn from here? Well I think at least some things about friendship, being a king, forgiveness, anger, love, imagination, playing it too rough, holes in the trees and other important things.  What it got me thinking is that we should remember that child is just a child, we shouldn’t expect our children to be ready for this world before they’ve seen enough of it.

On a nice sunday afternoon, what would be nicer than to take your good friends and enjoy a couple of hours of fine cinema – except of course if the film happens to be Martyrs. Let’s go for the goods first. The acting is superb. All the technical aspects, image and sound  are more than ok.  The beginning of the films gives you anticipation of entertaining horror. Then it seems to be a traditional and medicore japan-horror. Then – I just don’t know. The twists in the story start off gripping. Then descent in to foreseeable. Then take a u-turn to WTF!? and finally dress themselves in a t-shirt shouting PLEASE STOP DOING THAT! It might be that I’m the wrong audience for this kind of horror. Torture-porn they say, and they’re not all wrong.  It’s disturbing and stomach grunching a bit in the same way that Hanekes Funny games was – which I really liked. The difference is that Haneke  had a point. Maybe they also had one making this, but it certainly didn’t reach me. In the latter part of the film, there’s almost nothing enjoyable, except the acting. So, the story? Yes there is some kind of, but it could have been told in a more compact and more entertaining way. Maybe this isn’t entertainment, maybe it’s art? A martyr in modern language is a person who suffers for his beliefs in the hands of others. After the film, I somehow felt like one.  To make this babbling even more confusing, I have to admit that it is not a bad movie. I’s just awful to see through.

Is it a drama? Is it a musical? Is it a romantic flick…. no… its… its… well, I wouldn’t want to put it in a certain locker. It has all of the above, and a pint of the ol’ Iris’ charm. So we have the guy from Commitments (that’s what the marketing guy told us at least), and a gal we haven’t really seen before – that’s nice. They’re both good. Images are exactly what you’t expect from a small budget indie film – traditional, that is. And I liked em. It’s undisputedly film. Grains’n all.

Don’t you just feel at least a little discomfort, when in a musical everyone suddenly burst into a song? I do. Except in South Park the movie of course. Well, here it doesn’t happen, not the feeling of discomfort nor the bursting in to a street wide choir. The songs fit seamlessly into the film. A word of warning to those whom do not enjoy the Ryan Adamish, man-and-a-guitar type ‘woolen sweater-pop-rock’. That is what this film is about. And about making decisions and finding your place and a place for your heart. It’s a feel good movie, but why are you feeling good? Go see, and take your significant other with you and ask her.

Well.. mr. Anderson. Now you’ve done it again. And mr. Day-Lewis. What can I say, you are too good in being awful. And by the way, If they ever need someone to replace dr. Henry Jones(Indys father) , I’d say the place is yours. At least in some scenes Daniel sounds just like Sean and even from some angles looks a bit like the man.

So this is quite a long one, 2:40 with credits. But worth all those minutes. But then again so are all Paul’s movies. One really can’t say that if you liked his other films like Magnolia, you’d like this. These have almost nothing in common. It’s not nice, in any ways. but I really didn’t expect it to be. In fact it is really dirty and shows the dark sides of a man in such way that it chills you to the bone. Well the images are beautiful, and the landscapes accompanies the story with fine underline.

The pace is slowish, but not so that you’d get bored. The guy from Radiohead, not the Yorke one, but one by the name of Jonny Greenwood has made haunting and interesting music. And another thing I liked was that there are many long scenes without any kind of dialogue. I read a review of this earlier (gave it 4/5 stars) and it said that when the end credits start you’d like to shout: ”What the f*ck!!” And I agree, but then it gets to you, and the more you think of it the more you want to see it again. So what am I thinking? I’m thinking Stanley Kubrick, I’m thinking of Martin Scorsese in a bad hangover. And I’m smiling.

After a long and frustrating day at the office (well you really can’t say office when you’ve worked outdoors can you? unless you consider nature your office…but thats another story – so, on to the theatre). I was on my way to kick back and clear my messed up head with Rush Hour 3. But along came a friend and converted me to this film. I really didn’t know anything about this one so I had no pre-assumptions. And maybe that’s why it saved my day, more than Rush Hour could ever have done, I bet.
It’s about girls, boys and babies. Oh and don’t forget tits and drugs! If you are the least bit allergic to lazy pot-heads, sleazy male humour or human relationships going up and down… go see… umm.. I dunno… maybe Over the Hedge? In the end this really isn’t anything more than a boy meets a girl drama/comedy but all in all I liked this one for it’s entertainment values, I laughed out loud many times.

All the sleaziness and the other stuff was done in good humour and each and everyone got their share of laughs – so, (to make this review connect to movie history) I’ll say it has the qualities that made Chaplin movies great: You’re sometimes not quite sure whether to laugh or cry and when you laugh you(mainly) are not laughing at them but with them (and plz don’t crucify me for comparing it to Chaplin – because I really am not!). And beneath all the ganja smoke this movie maybe even tries to say something?