Millions

A basic synopsis is this: Two young boys and their father move to a new neighborhood after the death of the boys' mother. The movie centers around the time-frame of emotional adjustment from the move and going into the holidays in a new area. When a bag of money literally falls from the sky, young Damian believes it comes from God & tries to do good with it. Unlike Damian, his older brother has more ambitious goals, but the UK is about to switch its currency from Pounds to Euros in just a few days, so they have a very short window of time to use the loot.

I'd been wanting to watch this movie for quite a while but was worried that the preview made it more shiny-happy than it really was going to be, and/or that there would be a very painful moment or two to experience once I got into it. However, I'm happy to report that my fears were remiss - it was so good! I made Henry watch it with me a few weeks ago and he quite liked it as well. It is a really sweet story and the characters are all very engaging and tangible.

The main character, 7-year old Damian, is played by the same boy (Alex Etel) who is in the new movie, The Water Horse - which I also want to see and look forward to reviewing for you all! He is so amazing in this movie that you just want to pick him up and give him a big hug, or perhaps climb into his giant cardboard box fort for the afternoon with him and his visions of Catholic saints. This is perhaps my most favorite aspect of the movie. I've often aspired to know about the various saints (just as a curiosity, being as I'm a lapsed Episcopalian with little use for saints) and as a result I am quite the admirer of this adorable kid with such random knowledge. If only I'd had an imagination half that powerful when I was a child... or now for that matter!

This movie's director is quite out of his usual element, being known for such movies as Trainspotting, Shallow Grave and 28 Days Later. All movies which I have enjoyed more than once and most of which I own, but none of which are at all on the same planet with this movie's environment. This is a magical land (which I kept expecting to come crashing down, but was pleased to find did not) and is not like the England that is usually seen in films. Even though it is around Christmas, this England is bright and colorful rather than foggy and gray, adding to the surrealism of the story. It is a wonderful story and I highly recommend it to warm you up on a gray day. Grab a cuppa tea and a biscuit (that's a cookie for youz in the South) and snuggle up to watch this one any time of year!

Trailers are available at this site (I couldn't locate one to load here, sorry!): http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2005/IJKLM/Millions/trailer.php

Juno

This movie is hilarious. Going off the poster I would never have seen it. I knew nothing about it when I went to see it this past Thursday with my girl's night out group but I figured it couldn't be too bad. It is instead... wonderful! I can't wait to see it again! I would never have thought that about a movie about a pregnant 16 year old. However, as I type this I realize that one of my favorite t.v. shows was Gilmore Girls (also about a 16 year old who got knocked up).

The main character of this movie, Juno, has a similar sarcastic, almost acerbic, humor to the cast of Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars. She struck me as a Daria come to life or even a young Janeanne Garofalo. I would have loved to have been her best friend in school and I'll find myself wondering and wanting to know what Juno is doing now that she's out of high school and making her way to stardom in a rock band or whatever her destiny may be.

Speaking of music, I want this soundtrack! It is very much Velvet Underground inspired and is filled with the sounds of the Moldy Peaches' Kimya Dawson. It quite a lot of fun. I look forward to owning both the soundtrack and the movie. Yes, this is a go see! (I'll have to review a crappy movie soon or you'll all think I've got no discerning taste!)

Here is a preview for you, in case you haven't seen it, or if you are like me and just love watching snippets over and over since you can't go pop in the DVD quite yet.

Sweeney Todd

Amazing that such goodness can be found in such evilness. I loved this movie and so did Henry. We both like musicals and Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton combo films. I am obsessed with the ideas found within the realm of Gothic fiction and how that is translated into the noir film and macabre genres. (Yes, you can call me dark and twisty, I don't mind.) So, I knew it was a perfect fit for me: Johnny Depp + musical + dark storyline + Tim Burton + Colleene Atwood's gorgeously gross costumes + popcorn. Heaven. Perhaps even Heaven on a stick. I wasn't sure if Henry was going to be in Heaven but gave him kudos for going with me.

I loved it so much that I went and bought the soundtrack 10 minutes after we were leaving our seats. I've been singing about meat pies ever since. (It is currently on in the background, actually.)

If you don't like musicals don't see it. They start singing at the first lines of the movie. If you don't like blood (even though it is very theatrical [read: fake]) don't go see it. If you don't like Tim Burton, don't see it! 'nuf said. If you don't like these things then you most likely picked up on them in the previews and you weren't going to see it anyway.

So, on to the critical parts. I can't think of any... Technically it was fabulous: costumes, lighting, scenery, scenic design, makeup - all great. I'm sure there will be some Oscar nods in those categories. The actors were quite good - though I was worried about them singing & that was unexpectedly good, too. There was one flaw that Henry and I both noticed where Toby is eating a meat pie and is half through with it and then in the next frame it only has a little bite missing. Henry used to get mad at me for pointing those things out and now he catches them on his own. My only other criticism was that Helena was too reminiscent of the Bride of Frankenstein in her final scene. Seriously could have been taken from that movie. Wish that hadn't been the case.

Henry mentioned that he wished it had gone into the "what happens next" part of the story, but the movie is called Sweeney Todd so I feel it was ended at the only possibly appropriate point. I highly recommend it to everyone (with the aforementioned caveats). I'll even add a preview if I can find a good one to put up here. Enjoy your meat pies!



Something is messed up with every preview I put up, so I suggest you just go to the official site for the movie at www.sweeneytoddmovie.com and have a good visit!