La Vie rêvée de Walter Mitty

I saw this movie on a special sneak preview event. I admit being utterly mesmerized by some of the trailers. I did really enjoy the film. It has a nice message and is definitely a feel good movie. There is nothing wrong with that. For me, this is the most beautifully looking film I've seen this year. The cinematography and camera shots were fantastic - right up there with Life of Pi and Gravity. It's definitely worth seeing on the big screen. I personally enjoyed Ben Stiller in a more serious role. The film has comedic elements but everything is a bit more subtle and reflective of a man trying to find his inner courage and voice.

One really has to wonder what the professional reviewers are really thinking. We looked over the family movie list and barely decided to go to this one based on lackluster reviews. Six out of six of us REALLY liked it and found it deep and entertaining, and easy to watch. By all means, if you are looking to enjoy a movie, go see this one.

If you are looking for a connection to the original story, the connection happens during the first 45 minutes and then seems to go in its own direction. Big deal. The movie moves through characters development, plot lines, and geographies smoothly, and does not reveal its final hand until the end.

Actually just one of them would make me want to give this a 10/10 and it is very close in my eyes. The scene I'm talking about involves a helicopter and a song that really got under my skin. If you don't feel a thing during that scene ... well I don't know what to say. The whole thing is build upon feelings and dreams. Obviously breaking out of them and making some of it reality (not the ones that can not be achieved obviously, like flying or other stuff) is the ultimate goal.

Ben Stiller might be known for one thing, but we can see with this movie he has a wider range. And the visual/virtual effects he uses help support his vision. A vision of a novel that I haven't read, but sounds more than intriguing even after you've watched the movie. Which cannot be said about most of novels/movies that have been made this way. This is not your typical movie, even though it might hit some familiar notes and go ways that are to be expected. Take the journey and fly with it ...

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is inspiring and creative, and I appreciate creativity and being inspired. The exotic settings and the unique soundtrack enhance the viewing experience. I do feel like it should have been funnier, though. I don't know if it will hold up during subsequent viewings, but this movie is an entertaining ride the first time through.

Ben Stiller is Walter Mitty, a man who looks as if he does nothing, is nothing and is perceived as nothing. Except for during his little fantasies in which he is a hero, but during these weirds moments in which he dozes off, others write him off.

Until he finds a goal in life, which puts in him adventurous situations by accident, which transform him in the man he always was. A unique individual, an adventurer, a dreamer who fulfills his dreams and finds the appreciation he needs and deserves. But the appreciation doesn't come from other, but from himself.

What the movie does brilliantly, is make the watcher feel connected to Walter Mitty and feels with him. You'll find him goofy, but likable. Your respect for him will grow with every minute, and at the end of the movie, you'll love him. Maybe you even recognize your own milestone moments, mountains you have climbed, seas you have sailed, so we all are bigger than we are perceived, as long as you have that respect and confidence from within.

Props to Ben Stiller. Jim Carrey had his Truman Show, Will Ferrel had his Stranger Than Fiction. Ben Stiller's Walter Mitty should be in that group.