Movie Review: Where The Wild Things Are
October 20, 2009
Where the Wild Things Are, directed by Spike Jonze, is a particularly difficult movie to write a review for, since it requires constant analysis throughout viewing. The plot is as simple as the book it derives from; an imaginative boy, Max (played by Max Records), decides to run away after confronted with several problems in his life, and ends up on an island inhabited by large monster-like creatures. In an effort to stop them from eating him, he tells them he is a king and sets out to fix their problems. As he makes friends with them he realizes their problems, as well as his own, can’t be solved easily. Eventually, he leaves and returns home, richer for the experience.
Where the Wild Things Are is a stark and stunning visual journey through a rough, dark and sometimes frightening psychological world. Each monster is an aspect of Max himself, or an aspect of his life, and it’s fascinating to see Max argue about an issue that can be directly related to his real life and the monsters’. The whole movie feels like a puzzle you have to put together, and once you’ve set one piece the next one appears, even more dark and haunting than the last. This is a psychological look at the mind of a split and troubled child.
Jonze paints a vivid picture you won’t soon forget from the creepy, desolate island to Carol, the monster Max identifies with most, exploding at him for something we all know Max is feeling deep inside. This may be a movie based on a children’s book, but this is much more in depth than the other run-of-the-mill fart joke kid’s movies. You know as soon as you leave the theater; you’ve learned something, and that sinking feeling in your stomach won’t leave because the movie speaks true to all audiences.
Where the Wild Things Are (4 1/2 out of 5)
- Steve
Movie Review: The Informant!
October 14, 2009
The Informant! really wants to be a spy movie. No, sorry, it is a spy movie. Mark Whitacre really wants to be a spy. The Informant!, directed by Steven Soderbergh, chronicles the story of Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), a bio-engineer working for Archer Daniels Midland. ADM manufactures lysine, and when a lysine eating bacteria threatens ADM’s sales, they call the FBI to do an internal investigation. Mark used this opportunity to come clean to FBI agent Shepord (Scott Bakula); ADM had been price fixing lysine sales with their foreign and domestic competitors. Mark subsequently starts working with the FBI to take down the heads of ADM. In the midst of the investigation, however, Mark becomes a target and he starts losing his mind.
The Informant! is as rollercoaster of dry humor and boring business practice. Matt Damon plays a game winning role, and is relentless in it. His innocuous narration is laugh out loud funny as his character nervously walks around every corner. Damon’s narrative constantly reverences Michal Crichton’s novels and stories, usually when cooperating with the FBI comes into play. This characters attitude is beautifully accompanied by a pseudo-spy soundtrack, with blaring trumpets and obvious guitar riffs. The movie certainly feels like a spy movie, even when little happens in the first place. The Informant! is a must see for any fan of corporate scandal movies, and semi-spy flicks.
The Informant! (3½ out of 5)
- Steve
Music Review: Fleet Foxes
October 4, 2009
Folk.
No, not the guy with straw in his mouth on his porch beating up a banjo.
Folk. Neil Young. Crosby, Stills, and/or Nash. Bob Dylan.
Y’know, Folk.
As of a few weeks ago, that was my list. Today, I would like to nominate another member, if the board of folk music should allow it: Fleet Foxes.
Pure, melodic, catchy, dreamy folk music from America (Seattle) with pride. This, people, is truly a revolution in music today. I cannot stress enough how valuable these kids may one day prove to be should a folk music revival occur some time soon. They currently have two albums out; their self-titled debut and Sun Giant, both released through Bella Union Records. For anybody who enjoys some folk music or would like to get acquainted, I encourage some Fleet Foxes indulgence.
- C.J.
Book Review: Jeff Vande Zande
October 1, 2009
If readers of Five Fishes have figured me out at all, they might understand that I kind of have a thing for fish. Guilty. Maybe a little bit because of this, Michigan writer Jeff Vande Zande’s book Into the Desperate Country is one of my favorites. It’s got plenty of river and plenty of fish for me.
Aside from the gills and the ripples, though, this is an intimate look at a man who doesn’t quite know what he wants in life, but knows that it’s not what he’s got at the moment. He flees his city life and ditches it for a simpler one. But, his indecisions get him into some trouble along the way. It’s really a battle between self and self-induced situation. Which, in case anybody is wondering, I love.
Though the book is a bit slow, it’s just the right pace for the subject. It’s outdoors-y, personal, and captivating. I recommend this book to just about anyone who isn’t one-hundred-percent sure about their life.
- C.J.
