Up

I have seen quite a few movies lately, most of which I have not yet had time to write about. Up is by far the pick of the bunch. It is a wonderful and highly enjoyable animation from the ever reliable Pixar. It features some great voice actors, including Ed Asner, John Ratzenberger (Cliff from Cheers) and Christopher Plummer. The art work is gorgeous and it looks a treat in 3D, a technology which is now pretty much perfected and will become the standard for animation. It is very funny. There is plenty of humour that will appeal to kids and adults alike. But what makes Up really special and makes it stand out from the crowd is the story. The story is complex, magical, entertaining, heart-warming and yet believable and not at all sentimental. Its an extreme rarity to see a new and original story this good. Up is destined to become a Walt Disney classic. Pure brilliance.

The Corporation

Any film that features as talking heads the unbearable lefty likes of Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein and, worst of all by far, the Jabba-the-hut role model for the self righteous and self promoting, the sloth-like and always disgusting Michael Moore, is not likely to gain a sympathetic viewing from me. Just as I was getting over my initial revulsion for these three and starting to think that the movie made a fairly good case for the need for corporate ethics, it descended into complete, gibbering nonsense. By the end it was holding corporate America responsible for everything from global warming to Nazi death camps. It would be entertaining for taking itself so seriously and for some of the more inane comments if it was not so overly long and repetitive. In the end it is merely dross.