african cats

i meant to write this review weeks ago...i'm sorry!

in this movie there were 3 different cat "families" featured. it was filmed over a period of 2 years, but of course you can't tell that at all by watching it. there are lions (2 packs) and cheetahs (a momma and her babies).

while all the footage was amazing of course, and it was neat to hear some of the stories, but there was a lot of repetition. there was also a lot of anthropomorphism. like, out of control...

also, its very skewed towards the cats point of view. it will show them taking down a wildebeest and will say how it's because they need food in order to survive. but you know they're going to use that same footage for some other show and do it from the wildebeest's point of view and how horrible the predation of the lions are. you know what i mean?

when i mentioned this movie on my blog, a few people asked about any violence/sadness. so i'm just gonna to say the parts that fall into this category. *SPOILER ALERT* 1. one of the lion moms is really old and gets hurt while hunting, and eventually she has to walk away from the pack and go die. and her cub has to be "adopted" by another lioness. and of course they show it in a super sad way [i cried]. 2. some of the cheetah cubs get lost. aka, die without the help of their mother. its sad. 3. it shows cats taking down their prey. and eating it. gross.

overall, the movie was interesting. like i said, the footage was great. it got annoying how they were making everything into elaborate stories, assigning names and feelings to cats, and over simplifying their actions.

the grade?

B-/C+

Catfish

Ummm, it's been a while.....sorry. But never fear, we have been watching tons of movies (as usual). So we'll be doing our best to catch up on all of them. Here goes.....this is Catfish. We originally saw a short preview for this movie sometime last year. It's a indie documentary that I believe debuted at Sundance. The film follows 3 friends, 2 of which are brothers. The main Character, Nev, is a 24 year old photographer from New York. One of his pictures is featured in a newspaper, and shortly after that, he gets a message on facebook from an 8 year old girl in Michigan named Abby. Abby is an artist who asks if she can paint Nev's pictures. An online friendship begins between the two, as Abby begins to send more and more paintings to Nev.

And that's where the documentary starts....it's all about this little girls friendship with this photographer.....or at least that's how it starts. I really can't say too much more about the plot b/c things get interesting. Let's just say, it's fun to try to figure out the twist of this movie...

Good thing is, we get to figure it out WITH the main characters as the documentary progresses. You'll be interested, trust me. Check. it. out.

B+

This is it

If you are a Michael Jackson fan, this is the movie to see. If you are a skeptic, and you wonder if Michael can really sing and dance like he used to, you should see this movie.
(answer: yes he can)
Shot over a 3 month period before his sudden death, This is it gives us a behind the scenes look at the practices for Michaels come back tour. He sings and dances to all his hits, and it sounds better than ever. He even gets a lot of laughs by his attention to detail. He is seen several times correcting the director or musicians. He has trouble with his ear monitors and the timing of songs, and wants to make sure every detail is checked. While watching the movie, there is no sign of fatigue....he keeps up with the much younger dancers the whole way through. After seeing this movie, you realize just how much of a shame it is that he is gone. This would have been the concert of the decade. This movie will only be in theaters for 2 weeks, so if you're planning on seeing it, don't wait too long.

A

The king of kong

This documentary was first brought to my attention by guest reviewer, vegafoo. I guess I just didn't remember it, b/c I found it on accident on netflix yesterday and finally got around to watching it.

The story revolves around the world of classic arcade games and the challenge of obtaining the world records. In it, excentric Billy Mitchell (who could be considered the best arcade game player ever) has his high score and world record on the game Donkey Kong challenged by an ordinary father of 2 from Washington named Steve Weibe.

The movie follows the twists and turns of various people who make these games their lifes work. It was actually very interesting and funny at the same time.

I promise you, you will not be let down. Billy Mitchell is....well, interesting to say the least. He is talented (this is the guy who played a perfect game in pac man), but he is also insane. Watch this movie and you will be entertained. Will Steve beat the high score? (which was set in the early 80's) Will billy cut his disgusting hair? Will this make you want to beat the high score of Donkey Kong yourself?...you'll just have to watch it and see.

A-

hi my name is ryan

ok sorry, i kind of distorted this picture, but it was really small and you wouldnt be able to see it.

this is a documentary done by my bffs brother-in-law, paul eagleston, and his friend (cousin?) stephen rose. the official website can be found here. we saw it at the slc film fest a couple weeks ago.

this film is all about a boy named ryan, who is very into music and being creative. he has about 5+ bands with himself and friends, all within different genres. he will do weird/strange things just to do weird/strange things. he wants people to see things in a different way, and understand deeper levels or motives. he admits he isn't "normal" [although these days who isnt, right?], but his main goal in life seems to become a sort of superhuman, who is just plain awesome.

one thing about ryan is he has some sort of growth deficiancy, and therefore has an extremely young looking face. he is also lds, and even serves a full-time mission. it almost seems ironic that these two facts are about the same boy who sings songs like "spank the world" in his thrash band "Fathers Day." this particular band appears to be a product of a difficult upbringing in which his father seemed to have little interest in (go figure). oh, and he also dropped out of highschool because he didnt like it (understandable), and his interests and life-path so far have been fine without the rest of his high school education.

the documentary is pieced together very well, with different aspects of his life: from his family to his fake-mustache-wearing habit, his bands, and the people he interacts with (via shows, theaters, etc). with interesting shots, interviews, clips of shows, and graphics, the film will keep you entertained the whole time. by the end you really are almost in awe of ryan, and the kind of activities he does for fun.

one of the funniest characters in the movie is this crazy art guy (who isn't a very good artist actually), who is taped saying some obscene things about ryan and his cohorts. it is really quite amusing just to hear the things that come out of his mouth. it's a riot. i believe one line he is quoted as saying about Ryan is "I will bake you like a chicken!" ...now those are some classic one-liners.

all in all, the documentary is interesting/funny, well put together, and really captivates the audience. paul and stephen did an incredible job, and hopefully we will be seeing this film going places. :] sundance perhaps? bravo to them, and way to keep striving for awesome-ness ryan.

the grade?

B+/A-

earth

just saw this yesterday. GO SEE IT!! every ticket bought gets a tree planted. the footage is amazing and breathtaking. as much as i love nature, this movie just enhanced it. if you love planet earth (or just the earth/animals in general) than you will love this movie.

there were a few times that an animal was running away from a predator and i was going "runnnnnn!!!!" then i almost got sad but i was like ok ok they need to eat too.

please go see this movie. it will increase your appreciation for the earth and the wildlife it supports. (my favorite part is when they talked about water and how it makes everything possible etc etc and i was like yayyyy my future career has meaning!!)

the grade?
A+

march of the penguins

i know this movie came out a while ago, but we had never seen it. so this weekend we rented it on the playstation. we had heard so much about how awesome this movie was, so we were really psyched up for it...

the movie was good, but not what we expected. there was a lot that wasn't really explained very well. several times i asked out loud "wait, what is going on!? why arent they telling us!?!" also, the movie was filled with several stretches of monotony. it would zoom up on a melting icicle for like 5 minutes straight. we got the idea after the first few seconds...

besides those two problems, i did like this movie. the penguins were sooo cute, and its amazing how their bodies work. i didnt like it when they showed dead penguins though. i even cried at one point... it was interesting though and generally good.

overall, i'd say the grade is a B-