And now, 2011's three best films for youngsters, back-to-back-to-back.
#17 The Muppets
I had a friend who used the descriptor "delightful" for the Muppet reboot, and I think that is spot-on. The plot is simple yet effective: Gary (Jason Segel) is a human and somehow his biological brother Walter (voiced by Peter Linz) is a puppet. Gary and girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) plan a trip to L.A. and Walter tags along so that he can go to world famous Muppet studios. They arrive to find the shoddy, broken down studios virtually empty and after Walter accidentally stumbles into Kermit's "office", he overhears a plot by the evil oil tycoon Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to tear down Muppet Studios and drill for oil. Mary, Gary and Walter then work to reunite the whole gang for a benefit show to stop Richman and save their studio. All of the favorites come together-Kermit, who is living a lonely Hollywood life; Gonzo, running a plumbing company; Fozzie, playing in a Muppets tribute band; Animal, taking anger management courses; and Ms. Piggy, the Devil in Prada, running a fashion mag in Paris. The celebrity cameos come fast and furious (Rashida Jones, Jack Black, Emily Blunt, Zach Galifinakis, Donald Glover, Jim Parsons, Whoopi Goldberg, Feist, Dave Grohl, Alan Arkin, Neil Patrick Harris), and the fantastic "Man or Muppet" is one of only two (really? Nine best picture nominees and two songs?) Oscar-nominated tunes. It's joyous, and definitely does justice to the beloved franchise. See it.
#16 Hugo
Martin Scorsese, yes he of Casino, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and The Departed, has put together a pretty great kid's movie in Hugo. Hugo (Asa Butterfield) is orphaned after his father (Jude Law) dies in a fire, and he is tasked with keeping all of the clocks in a Paris train station running. He has a bedroom up within the clock tower walls and avoids getting caught by the snide station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen), who believes Hugo's uncle is still manning the timepieces. Early on, Hugo gets into a spat with a store clerk (Ben Kingsley) who believes he has been stealing, and in turn, takes Hugo's sketchbook. It turns out that within the sketchbook are designs for an automaton that he and his father were working on rebuilding. There's some weird connection between the shopkeeper and the automaton, and with the help of his granddaughter (Chloe Grace Moretz), Hugo is going to find out what exactly that weird connection entails. The story of Hugo is cool (though it is slowed by a couple of dumb subplots), but where it really shines is in its visual effects. As a live-action 3D film, it brings 1930s Paris to life in a breathtaking fashion, and as an ode to the cinema of old, it pays perfect homage. Just don't expect any DeNiro or guns.
#15 The Adventures of Tintin
Not everyone liked this one, but I am admittedly biased. When I was a youngster, I would check out the Tintin comics two at a time from the downtown branch of the Madison Public Library. Sometimes, if my folks were taking a while in their endeavors, I would sit in the lounge of the children's section and just read them there. I read each of the 22 or so Tintin comics at least twice, so for those of you who are unfamiliar, allow me to bring you up to speed: Tintin is a Belgian reporter-probably late teens or early 20s-who goes on worldwide adventures. His known allies include Snowy the dog, Thompson and Thomson, who are idiotic twin detectives, professor Calculus, and Captain Haddock, a whiskey drinking retired ship captain. This particular Tintin adventure is based on the comic "The Secret of the Unicorn", which finds Tintin buying an old model ship that leads him into danger and eventually introduces him to Haddock for the very first time. The Tintin comics were always appealing to me because of the adventure, the wit, and Haddock's insults ("trogolodyte", for example), and Spielberg and Peter Jackson do well by the comics. The strange combination of motion capture and animation takes a little getting used to, but it works well in the many film's action sequences. The cast (Jamie Bell as Tintin, Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock, Daniel Craig as the main villain) does a nice job as well, and thus begins the first of hopefully many cinematic adventures for our trench-coated, blue sweater/collared shirt, Richie-rich cowlick-ed reporter.
No comments:
Post a Comment