MOVIE REVIEW: HER

A sensitive and soulful man earns a living by writing personal letters for other people. Left heartbroken after a long love affair ends, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) becomes fascinated with a new operating system which reportedly develops into an intuitive and unique entity in its own right. He starts the program and meets "Samantha" (Scarlett Johansson), whose bright voice reveals a sensitive, playful personality. Though "friends" initially, the relationship soon deepens into love.. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Spike Jonze

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Rooney Mara, Amy Adams

Release Date: Dec 18, 2013

Rated R for language, Brief Graphic Nudity and Sexual Content

Runtime: 1 hr. 59 min.

Genres: Romance

Review:

Spike Jonze Her is a beautifully told love story that’s about as dense as week old muffins. Jonze’s, who also wrote the script, film is set in the hipster populated near future where a lonely man falls in love with a sentience operating system but it’s all a proxy for a myriad of themes and ideas. It’s delicate and harsh at the same time with the emotional journey ringing true throughout. You could say this film is about increasingly detached world or about journey we go through in relationships or the evolution of a person as they grow and learn. Any one of those would be correct in my opinion and there are still other thematic elements at play throughout. Joaquin Phoenix turns in an awards caliber performance, especially when you consider the fact that he was acting by himself for the better part of the film only with Johansson’s voice to work with. It’s an impressive turn from the start were we sense the character’s loneliness and the emotional journey he goes through. It maybe his best work to date. Johansson’s voice work is equally impressive. She creates a tangible character with emotional weight which is quite a trick since she’s just a disembodied voice. They both have a discernable rapport together which makes the emotions feel real. It’s a strangely impressive feat for the film. There are some issues albeit minor ones. The allegory does occasionally veer into pretentious territory by taking things into silly extremes. Additionally, the story is overlong, needlessly meandering for portions of the 2nd act before moving to its inevitable conclusion.

A-

Movie Reviews: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Sunday, October 18, 2009
Movie Reviews: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
IN THEATERS

 

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Misunderstood at home and at school, mischievous Max (Max Records) escapes to a land populated by majestic, and sometimes fierce, creatures known as the Wild Things. The Wild Things allow Max to become their leader, and he promises to create a kingdom where everyone will be happy. However, Max soon finds that being the king is not easy, and that his relationships with the Wild Things are much more complicated than he originally thought.

Opened ..October 16, 2009..

Runtime: 1 hr. 34 min.

Cast: Max Records, James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Paul Dano, Tom Noonan, Catherine O'Hara, ..Forest.. Whitaker, Catherine Keener, Michael Berry Jr.

Director: Spike Jonze

Genres: Children's Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure, Adventure, Fantasy

Rated PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language.

Review:

Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are is fascinating adaptation of the legendary children’s book. Visually stunning, the film has a palatable sense of youthful energy capturing the dizzying highs along with the painful lows. Jonze’s is able to capture this with extremely effective use of handheld cameras during certain portions of the film. The island is beautifully surreal giving it a dream like feel which fits perferctly into the story. The wild things themselves are technical marvels, created using a mix of puppetry and CGI. The voice actors complete these creations and bring them to life; Gandolfini in particular is surprisingly effective throughout. Lauren Ambrose also impresses as KW providing tenderness to her role mixed with a quiet strength. The rest of the voice cast are equally effective even if they aren’t given as much time as Ambrose or Gandolfini. New comer Max Record is a real find; he’s wonderfully naturalistic perfectly suited for the role. He has the gift to phase through the different emotions in a believable manner, something rare in child actors. Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers had the task of adapting a book with only a handful of sentences. They used the book as a starting point and expanded outward and created something magical, poignant and occasionally a little terrifying. It works a multitude of levels and can be enjoyed either as a straight forward tome or on more allegorical terms. Jonze’s had plenty of issues making this film and it could have fallen into a blackhole because of studio meddling. Luckily the film finally made it to the screen and we can see the fruits of Jonze’s labor. He has creating something that’s respectful of the book but able to stand on its own.

A