Stop Frame

I’m still trying to understand just how good a film Up is. I emphasize film because I don’t put any qualifier ahead of it. I’m not saying “animated film” or “CGI film;” I’m saying film, period, end of story, as in it should compete for Best Picture Oscar and never mind that silly best animated feature award. Live action films, beware, you are now in competition with a cartoon that pretty much kicks your ass. Pixar is in a rather enviable position. The trailers for Up really give you no idea what the film is about, other than a man flying off in his house. Yet millions are flocking to the theatre, more than went to see other, recent Pixar films on their opening weekend. That’s pure good will and expectations, buoyed even higher by what is sure to be excellent word of mouth. Up tells the story of Carl and Ellie. Ellie, mind you, is no where to be found in the trailers, for the simple reason that she dies in the first five minutes of the film. And yet she inhabits most every fram...

My daughter is finishing up her sixth year of active duty with the US armed forces; my son-in-law-to-be is completing his eleventh. Both are aiming to be 20-year veterans. Friends have sons and daughters who have served six or more years. They have all seen multiple deployments overseas, in one hot zone or another. None of them regret enlisting (or re-enlisting), all serve with distinction, all are proud of who they are, what they do, and the country they serve. There aren’t enough words for me to express my gratitude for those who serve. As said, I know a lot of them, and I find them remarkable. Their sacrifices are many, in little and immense ways. I know exactly who to thank for the freedoms I enjoy. For all who serve, who have served, and who will continue to serve, and in memory of those who have given all and to their families who have lost so very, very much: Thank you, and God bless.

I’m at a loss. I’m not really sure why this film got so much critical praise and award nominations. While far from bad, it’s also far from great. It’s another example of where “it doesn’t suck” is taken as high praise. The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons unfolds at a lugubrious (love that word) pace. It tells the tale of a man born physically old, who grows physically younger as he grows chronologically older. It’s a cute concept, much better done here than Frances Coppola did with Youth Without Youth (which is just tedious). It just doesn’t seem to have any relevance to the story that unfolds on the screen. I suppose it could be an illustration of the saying, “Youth is wasted on the young.” Only it never seems to work that angle. The punchline, such as it is, seems to be that you can swear, fight, struggle, but in the end, you die. This is news? In many ways, this is Forest Gump Revisited , only a shade more mature. Where Gump was more often humorous, Buttons is almost alwa...

Well, it doesn’t suck. Despite J.J. Abrams repeatedly telling me to stay away (“Not your father’s Star Trek”, but what if I’m the father you’re referring to?), my son, his wife, and I went on opening day. I’ve been thinking how to put all this down ever since. Where to begin? The opening sequence is simply brilliant. Watching the USS Kelvin get smeared by The Villain is a vivid experience. A small sample is watching members of the crew race for their emergency stations as the ship comes under attack. Without warning, a wall rips open and several are blown into the silent, lethal vacuum of space. The moment is made all the more horrific by going from screaming sounds to (literally) deathly silence. Most of the first half of the film lives up to this promising start. A scene where young Kirk steals a car and throws it off a cliff is just awful, though, and meeting Spock as he beats the snot out of a school bully is painful. Despite these stumbles, characters are introduced in good...