newboxcrayons

This movie, based on the books (already this will eliminate 90% of the movie-going audience) by Beverly Cleary, has no explosions, no talking dogs, no cutesy kids who sass their parents and display a maturity rivaling most 30 year olds nor a child with preternatural smarts who ends up preventing nuclear war etc. What it does have is a smart mom, a cool dad, a disaffected teenage sister, a baby, a cool auntie and some normal children. It's a story about a family who struggle with unemployment, job dissatisfaction, marital discord, self esteem, and bad sprinklers, as seen through the eyes of a nine year old girl whose idea of a bad word is "guts".

Still with me?

If you enjoy movies like Iron Giant and quality children's entertainment-you will LOVE this movie. Sadly, the people who complain the loudest about the film industry and the shallow values they encompass will probably miss this one-don't be among them. Take everybody. When I attended, everyone in the audience was clapping and crying at the end of the film , children and adults alike. Yes, it's a "little film"-meaning there are no blue aliens, no 3d stun shots, no cartoon characters passing off moral pablum as deep though. What it is a sweet story about real people. I wish there had been more people of color in the film, but I'll settle for some fantastic actors and a lovely message. See it and tell all your friends.

First of all, what I found interesting-the only thing I found interesting-in this film (and my 5 year old fell asleep ten minutes in) was the weird set design in this movie. Basically, the film was shot in the Malibu foothills with a bunch of supermarket plants thrown around an obvious fake lagoon to simulate some kind of jungle environment, which looked more like something you'd see in a dentist's office or indoor mall. The scenes of Mowgli running among the oak trees with animals thrown together from all corners of the world (I kept waiting for a cute penguin to show up)was just so strange I found it entertaining.

I wonder who decided that this was even release-able-and it's obvious to me that everyone associated with the film must have decamped to drug rehab immediately afterwards. A career ender if I've ever seen one.

I find the earlier criticism laughable...and sad, in that we're so used to Michael Moore esquire films now that shove their meanings down our throats that when something comes along that makes you actually have to think...and draw your own conclusions, everyone is up in arms.

Darwin's Nightmare is a look at the economic and social impact of one small decision made fifty years ago-the release of a bucket full of Nile Perch into Lake Victoria. Over time, these fish have eaten everything else in the lake, yet have also spawned a huge export business of whitefish fillets to Europe. The film records the huge cost this business has exacted on the Tanzanian community. They share in none of the profits and all of the consequences from a corrupt state, exploitation from overseas business interests and the collision of modern technology with a social infrastructure left in shambles by decades of war and poverty.

Without commentary from the filmmakers, or the popular "cut and paste" bombast of so many current documentarians, we are forced to draw our own conclusions. There are no villains among the people we meet on screen, yet everyone plays their role in a desperate human tragedy.

A real eye opener, maybe the closest many of us will ever get to the appalling conditions many endure the world over through no fault of their own save the place of their birth.