I am blogging from Chicago O'Hare International Airport, where I am my family are awaiting an 8:55 pm departure to Oklahoma City. We've been here since 1 pm and our first flight was cancelled. With bad weather in Chicago and OKC, I'm not sure we're going to make it home tonight at all.
Such is life, right?
So I thought I'd make the best use of my time and write for a bit. In particular, I want to do three brief movies reviews. Not really review... more like "comments". Here goes...
While in Chicago visiting family, we went to the movies twice. The first time, my wife and kids went to see Happy Feet while I went to the theatre down the hall to see Deja Vu with Denzel Washington.
Let's start there...
Deja Vu was a new twist on an old story. It wasn't the first film to ask "what if you could go back in time?" I think Marty McFly did that many years ago (several times), and certainly H.G. Well's "The Time Machine" speculated about this phenomenon long before Stephen Spielberg.
Nevertheless, it was entertaining and action-packed. I enjoyed suspending my disbelief in regard to the movie's major premise. But the very end of it left me wanting. Frankly, it offered a Hollywood ending that left me a little taken advantage of. I won't tell you why, but if you see it for yourself you may feel the same way.
Regardless, Denzel is a great actor and the film was worth a couple hours of my life.
Now, on to Happy Feet.
I didn't see the majority of this movie. I walked in at the end.
Big mistake.
I finished watching Deja Vu and met my family in the next theatre, entering when the lead penguin is trapped in a zoo.
Ugh.
Between the diatribes about the evils of keeping animals in a zoo and the blatant radical environmental messages, I found myself stewing not just a little bit.
Yeah, the penguins were funny. And yes, they could dance.
But the fact that the story blamed human beings and big corporations for "stealing all the fish" ended up making this movie a sneaky attempt at preaching a left-wing message to unsuspecting children (and adults).
If I go to see an Al Gore movie, I know up front that it is going to be left-leaning with a specific purpose in trying to change minds to see the filmmakers point of view.
But Happy Feet is supposed to be a children's movie whose primary goal should be to entertain and amuse. NOT to preach at them.
My son, who is 14, saw right through it. Without a word from me, he shook his head and indicated that he couldn't believe they did that. It made me proud and showed me that maybe I have done something right raising my kids. ;-)
If a filmmaker wants to preach a message, he or she should be up front in telling parents what that message is and not attempt to disguise it beneath a layer of animated entertainment. What that tells me is that their message is not palpable to the majority of filmgoers and that they are afraid people wouldn't see the movie if they knew the truth.
They're right.
Ok, I'll leave Happy Feet alone. Cute penguins. That's all. Parents should be careful before giving this koolaid to their children.
On to Deck the Halls.
Ugh. Again.
Are Danny Devito and Mathew Broderick so desperate that they will take an acting job without reading the screenplay? Or even worse, did they read the screenplay and think this was GOOD?
Deck the Halls is a disaster. It rehashes the very worst of every ridiculous neighbor vs. neighbor story with an unbelievably inane storyline, sexual humor that makes the movie inappropriate for young children and barely a shred of real holiday cheer. Were it not for Kristin Chenowith's rendition of "O' Holy Night" at the end, the film would have absolutely no redeeming value whatsoever.
I usually am not one to follow the critics, but I sure wish I would have read their reviews before plunking down my money on this dog. Woof. It's THAT bad.
Frankly, I can't believe how bad the movies are these days. I'm hoping that there are some redeeming films heading our way. In particular, I am eager to see The Nativity Story, for one.
Oh well. I've still got several hours in this airport. At least you aren't stuck here as well. ;-)
It's Del.icio.us!
Furl It!
November 30, 2006 02:18 AM
Sorry you were/are stuck at O'Hare Joel but while you were stuck my wife & I enjoyed an evening with the Trans Siberian Orchestra in Toronto last night. WOW!!! I first heard of TSO through The Mayor's Blog and after 7 years working nightshift 4pm - 4am I broke with tradition and took a night off. It was TOTALLY worth it and next year we'll buy tickets for our son & his wife, our daughter and ourselves and experience the concert together. Thanks for the tip, the whole experience was phenomenal! On the movie reviews ... I see about 3 movies/year and we saw Deck The Halls last Saturday. I'm going to take exception with your review, acknowledging that I am in no way a movie expert, but I needed a break from the far too much work and not enough play syndrome and the slapstick of Deck The Halls fit the bill. I went searching for some mindless diversion to fill a few minutes of an afternoon and this movie worked for me. BTW, haven't been here for some time, did you ever finish your Top Movies of All Time List? Just wondering. Merry Christmas from Ontario, Canada, 65 degrees tonight and no sign of snow! Unseasonable and I'm loving it!