Saturday, October 17, 2009

Where the Child Things Are

Max and Carol

Spike Jones has exceeded all expectations with Where the Wild Things Are. More cohesive, consistent, and complete than the loopy and fantastical "Being John Malcovich" and "Adaptation," the movie has an internal logic that never falters and that persuades on multiple levels: the characters, their universally familiar behaviors of childhood and family, and the big feelings that we all struggle with and that become monstrous when we can't control them, making us feel worse than ever. Sad, sweet, and funny, including a knock knock joke that gets a genuine laugh, the movie pushes you along far past the book that inspired it, into its own story, its own reason for being, its own catharsis. A must see for disfunctional families everywhere, if only we can stand to watch ourselves. Get yourselves in a big pile and dream...






New York Times Likes It: With “Where the Wild Things Are” he has made a work of art that stands up to its source and, in some instances, surpasses it.





NPR Likes It Too: Except, "its characters come with a back story, to my mind one that spells things out too much" and "And one alteration by Jonze and co-screenwriter Dave Eggers is unpardonable: Max dashes out of the house instead of getting sent to bed without supper, so there are no bedroom walls melting away, no forest rolling in — one of the book's most indelible images." (David Edelstein)






And They Don't Like it Either: It's painful to say this — and even more painful to watch it unfold onscreen — but Maurice Sendak's beloved Where the Wild Things Are has been turned into a self-indulgent cinematic fable that neither parents nor children are going to like. (Kenneth Turan)





Clueless Viewer, Didn't Like It: This movie was a complete disappointment. I felt the trailers for this film were misleading in that it didn't show the distorted emotions that most characters in this film possessed. My children were unsure of the Monsters intentions based on the monsters actions. Carol clearly had anger management problems. And the list goes on and on.... This film was totally not what we all were expecting. (Blackie Ocean: Really?)






Friday, October 2, 2009

Steel Panther is Creeping Up On You


I tremble before the manhood that is Steel Panther. Their record, Feel the Steel, might be the greatest thing since Spinal Tap. Best of all is their umlaut-rampant website: those pouts, those cheekbones, that spandex! They could be mistaken for a Pat Benataur work-out video. I'll leave it to the rock dudes to explicate the music: metal, shmetal. The lyrics are funny as all get out.

Feel the Steel!


Check out the Maxim Interview