and likes many things from outside Iran - Bruce Lee, punk music, ABBA, etc., all of which are forbidden after the rise of Islamic law. She is sent to live with family in Vienna, which doesn't work out. She grows up and still feels like an outsider, so she returns to Iran, but still doesn't find what she's looking for. It's described as a coming of age tale of an outsider who can't find a home to belong. It's based on graphic novels and the animation is obviously derived from the feel of graphic novels, being mostly black and white with a comic-feel of the animation. I think it's a remarkable story, and a new kind of animated movie to be made, but I'm not sure it's worthy of the Oscar. The animation is not spectacular or particularly nuanced, and holds on to the graphic novel and never really leaves the 2-dimensional space.
rd that will help win the whole thing. Of course the washed up surfer turns out to be Z, who faked his death so as not to lose to the younger Tank. Cody and Tank compete, along with Chicken Joe (perfectly voiced by Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder), and of course I won't tell you who wins. Cody and Lani fall for each other and Z re-emerges to save the day. The reason this movie really struck me is both the style and the animation. The mockumentary could easily have been done by Christopher Guest and his recurring cast of kooky characters, but it happened to be animated penguins. So the script is really sharp with lots of funny bits, though most of it being as predictable as a Christopher Guest mockumentary. They did a good job creating a diverse cast of characters using many different species of penguins. It was the animation that really awed me - it was animated such that it was a camera capturing the images - with only one thing being in focus at a time. The person talking would be in focus, but the background would be blurry. It really came into a 3-D perspective and kept the idea that it was a documentary going throughout. Excellent choice by the Oscar committee, and probably overlooked by many in the theaters. However, I don't think it will win either.
title is a stew that most people have never heard of. There are a hundred titles that would have made the movie easier to sell - "Underground in Paris", or "The Little Chef" (a phrase even used in the film). However, people flocked to this movie and loved it. Basically, it's a terrific story about being true to yourself, but trying to realistically find yourself at the intersection of different worlds. It's everything the Disney/Pixar movies have always been about - with the addition of pretty exceptional animation. This is the first CGI-animated movie I've ever seen that creates people with realistic facial expressions and twitches. Unfortunately, that skill extends to creating too-realistic shots of a very nice family of rats swarming out of a man-hole, or across a floor. That's where the heebie jeebies came in - I actually had to look away twice. It's the story of a young rat, Remy, who knows he could make better food than the garbage his kind are stuck with. He seeks out the restaurant of his favorite chef in Paris, the deceased Gusteau (who comes to him in hallucinations to tell him what to do). Of course a rat is not allowed in a restaruant kitchen, so he teams up with a lowly garbage boy and they start creating magnificent dishes that raise the declining status of the restaurant, making everyone happy. Ultimately, Remy's family accepts him for his "foodie nature" and Remy and the garbage boy create wonderful food in a kitchen no one is allowed to see. It doesn't cater too much to any one demographic, and is easy to enjoy by all - particually if rats don't give you the heebie jeebies. I think it has spectacular animation, a fun storyline, and will win the Oscar.
Director Matt Reeves is in negotiations to sequelize the rampaging adventures of Cloverfield’s colossal, coffee-table-shaped monster. The suddenly scorching-hot scary-movie helmer has also signed up to direct his own script for The Invisible Woman, a Hitchcock-style thriller about an ex-beauty queen who turns to a life of crime. More at Variety
Claire Danes Joins Welles
Claire Danes has joined the cast of Richard Linklater’s Me & Orson Welles. She’ll play Zac Efron’s object of affection in the coming-of-age rom-com about a teenage boy who ends up being cast in the very first play ever staged at Welles’ legendary Mercury Theatre.
Zack Snyder Talks Watchmen
The 300 director discusses the impact of Cheese on his upcoming adaptation of geek bible Watchmen. More at MTV Movies
New Indy 4 Pic
Paramount have supplied UK mag Empire with a snappy new image of Harrison Ford, Shia LeBoeuf and Karen Allen from Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Head over to see Ford with a rocket launcher in his hands, Shia looking alarmed and Allen getting to grips with the world’s largest steering wheel. More at Empire
