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I am essentially a big kid at heart and I have particular penchant for the animated movie. Pixar, a subsidiary studio of Disney is a favorite of mine and I avidly watch each and every one of their releases.

This movie follows Carl Fredricksen, an old man who sets off to South America to complete his wife's dying wish. His transport? His house, suspended from hundreds of balloons. His company? An eager 8 year old boy called Russell who stows away on the porch. Once they arrive in South America (it's like America but South!) they meet up with Kevin a colourful ostrich and Dug, a dim but friendly dog. Kevin is being hunted by Dugs pack-mates but Dug wants Carl to be his new master and the gang of unlikely friends have to come together to beat the slightly mad Charles Muntz who wants to capture Kevin to prove a point.

The opening scenes, which set out why it is so important for Carl to fulfill his wife's wishes and how they fell in love? There's a lot I can say about them but they really nothing short of perfection. The way the love twixt the 2 is expressed, without words in one sequence is superb and jerks more than the odd tear. There are moments of of comedy amid the pathos and also action scenes that, upon first viewing, raise the goosebumps. There is a scene, a few minutes in where Carl's house lifts off on it's journey, one necessitated by his wife's death and the encroaching development of the land surrounding the house. I very nearly got up and cheered as Carl stuck a metaphorical two fingers up authority. As the balloons fil the screen with colour? I read that as life being breathed into Carl's dream of adventure, of hope filling him.

This movie works as entertainment, but there are also themes of love, loss and redemption running through it. You see, there's Carl, an old man who defies age to become one of the all time great cinematic heroes. His marriage to Ellie proved childless and there's a wonderful theme of Carl finding a substitute children in Carl, the 8 year old and Dug, the dog. In fact the relationship twixt the heroic but daft Dug and the heroic but crabby Carl is another one brought a lump to my throat, being that I am a dog owner.

This is not just one of my favorite animated movies, it's one of my favorite movies full stop. If you don't get moved by this film then quite frankly you have no soul.

The Road

As I have often mentioned before, I have a big liking for post apocalyptic movies. I'm not entirely sure why that is, perhaps it's the whole end of the world vibe and being one of the last people alive, battling for survival.

So it was with eagerness that I popped this into the DVD machine. Some sort of unexplained cataclysm has occurred and all the crops have failed, the sun has gone and slowly, everything that once grew has stopped. Amongst the devastation we find The Man and The Boy, a father and son trying to make their way to the coast. Along the way The Man, played by Viggo Mortenson tries to ensure his son learns enough skills to be able to survive in this new and dangerous environment. They brush with some dangerous characters and The Man desperately tries to maintain his dignity and compassion whilst also being hard enough to ensure his son survives. The young actor who plays The Boy is one of the few high points in this movie, in fact he is the only high point. Mortenson just does his usual shtick and the other, supporting characters aren't really fleshed out enough t make you give a toss. There are some excellent shots of a ruined America, with panoramic vistas a specialty.

This movie had been hyped up and I had made the fatal mistake of buying into the hype. I'll state right now that I was disappointed by The Road. Perhaps if I had read the book first then maybe I would have appreciated it a bit more but as it is I found it to be full of relentless symbolism, of sodding great periods where nothing happens and then a few sudden jumps of action sprinkled in here and there.

It's not like this is an awful film but it's just one that leaves you wishing there was more to it. It's the film equivalent of a diet fizzy drink.

2012

Roland Emmerich has given us a fair few big budget, special effects heavy blockbusters, often with a heavy ecological bent. This is just one such movie and to be honest I had held off on seeing it as I felt a little bit snowed under by movies like this.

I gave in recently and rented it from the library at the exorbitant price of a £1 for a week. To my surprise I actually enjoyed it. The effects, whilst bombastic, fit in and the acting and writing can be a little wince inducing at times but is perfectly passable.

The plot, whilst implausible, doesn't come across as miles too outlandish. Basically there are massive does of radiation coming from the sun that bake the earths core and cause massive tidal waves and earthquakes. In amidst all this chaos, some scientists and politicians try to find a way to save humanity and a father tries to find a way to save his estranged family.

There are the jaw dropping set pieces you would expect but you don't really get the feeling of being shuttled along between scenes. The plot is set such that the scenes themselves don't seem too extraneous. In another rare move, the kid actors in this film are actually quite likeable and the adults? Well they're quite good too and John Cusack has the tinge of Nicolas Cage is genre hopping mode here.

The ending does come across as a little bit trite and condescending but then again this is Hollywood we are talking about and a patronising pat on the head is to expected at times. That's just a little quibble though as this is a fun movie, with great special effects that for once do not detract from the film itself. If you have 2 and a half hours to spare then there are worse ways to spend them.