Poetry: A film review

“The Unsaid, for me, exerts great power…”
--Louise Gluck

Alright, I want to preface this film review by saying that I hate going to movies with old people. They always choose to sit in the outermost seats at the theater even if the row is empty, forcing people to do the “kiss my ass-stare at my crotch” shuffle past them, because they are far too old and slow to actually stand up in a timely manner. Plus, each and every one of them has already formed an opinion of how good or bad the movie is going to be, before they even take their seats. Then they proceed to remind everyone around them how right they were from the beginning. Do not get me started on the constant standing up to use the bathroom 20 times during the film either. But, I guess I have to stomach all of this to see an excellent film whose lead is a 66 year old woman.

The simplicity of this poster belies the theme for the film. Lot's of subtext there. Pun intended.

Now that I have the old people tirade out of my system, I can now review the film.
As I waited for the movie to start, I noticed I was one of three people in the audience that were under the age of 30. The rest of the small audience were no younger than 55 at best, and all of the old men were very crotchety, clearly having been dragged by their wives for a Saturday at the movies. Suffice it to say, there were not many happy people in the audience for Poetry, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the film and hating old people at the same time.

First and foremost, the trailer for Poetry was easily one of the most deceptive trailers I have ever seen. They make it look like it will be a heartwarming tale of a Korean woman who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and uses poetry as a way to come to terms with the affliction that will eventually kill her. To borrow a phrase from a radio engineer I once knew, “WRONG.”

The fact is the Alzheimer’s is referred to only twice and is really only a device that get’s the main character, Yang Mija (Jeong-hie Yun), to the hospital and involved in the actual plot of the movie, though it is not really necessary, because the plot of the film, in reality, comes to her. Without giving anything away, the movie is actually about an elderly Korean woman struggling to find a voice in society where she has none and has become comfortable with that role. But, she is forced into a position where she needs to have a voice. A girl in her grandson’s class kills herself by jumping off a bridge. Her grandson, whom she looks after, and his friends are implicated in causing this girl to commit suicide. Yang Mija is forced into a position where she must choose to either protect what is left of her small family and dealing with the empathy she feels for this girl and her mother.

There is a lot of subtext to this film, and the allusion of poetry is used to flesh some of this subtext out, but it is done in an incredibly culturally specific manner. Yang Mija is what Koreans would call Ajuma; an elderly woman, with no job, and a very unique sense of fashion. Ajuma are very strong-willed women that rule those around them with an iron fist and rapier tongue. They are respected as elders but at the same time they are still cast off, because they are old (serving no purpose in a modernized computer age) and women, who are supposed to be submissive to their male counterparts. It is a bit more complicated than that, but this is the best way I can explain the Ajuma in a simplified way based on what I have been told by people who live in Korea. I am sure they will correct me if I am wrong (and I hope they do).

The director Chang-dong Lee (Secret Sunshine, Oasis, Peppermint Candy) directs in a very deliberate style that screams of influence, whether it is intentional or not, of Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ikiru). Sound plays a very specific role in the film and just like Kurosawa, anything you hear in the movie was there for a reason. It also deals with quite a few taboo topics, and at many times you sense the strain of showing such taboo subject matter that was originally meant for a culture that does not discuss, matters of poverty, infirmity, death, crime or self-expression publicly. Korean society seems very orderly and when something throws off that order it is to be hushed up, but I guess that is universal because we certainly do this in the United States. But Chang-dong Lee and especially Jeong-hie Yun approach all of these subjects in a calculated, provocative, but tasteful manner.

On the surface the film is very simple in its development and production, but there is so much more below the surface, which is why I thought it was so fitting that the film began and ended with a river—calm and orderly on the surface, but with so much more below. But, again, the river, the poetry is all allusions to far greater aspects and plot twists that we just don’t get in American cinema anymore. The slow pacing of the film had me on edge at all times because, you constantly wanted to see where things would end, and when the end of the film does eventually come…you are still left guessing. And you are left guessing so much more than Inception could ever offer, because all of the plot holes that Inception attempts to cover up with mind numbingly fun action scenes, Poetry insists on making you guess and draw your own conclusions while covering all of its bases. This is a film that you can certainly watch a dozen times and come to a different conclusion each time.

One final and somewhat unrelated thought, after watching a number of Korean films, I have noticed and find it very interesting that depending on the film’s setting and proximity to Seoul, Seoul becomes more or less mythical. Seoul is the capital of South Korea and it has this manner of becoming its own character in the film, because the characters react to it as if it is a place to fear, a place where your dreams come true, or just a place that is simply better than anywhere else in Korea. Seoul almost appears to be a real life, Korean Emerald City. It is impersonal, powerful, and a place of awe when viewed from the outside. Or it is a place of business, corruption, and power when viewed internally. It is a very interesting dynamic, one well worth studying.

Making the Grade

Acting: The acting is very much based off of one character, as she is forced to appear isolated from her surroundings. Jeong-hie Yun does an excellent job of showing a woman who struggles to find the best parts of life, while maintaining a dignified public persona expected of her by culture. The beauty of the acting is that it is not overly powerful. Instead, it just looked like you were watching a woman go through the day. It was real and that is what made it so good. This is the sort of acting that would be completely ignored by the Academy. A-

Special Effects/Visuals: There were no special effect in this film; it was artistic and beautiful, without the need of bells and whistles, which was very refreshing. If Hemingway directed a movie it would probably look like this. The Kurosawa influences were prevalent, though I do not think they were intentional. A-

Music/Sound: There was really very little music and when there was it was almost meant to be out of place and draw your attention to it. The sound of this film was impeccable and especially since it was a foreign film where reading can sometimes take over other stimuli, the sound of the movie kept you very focused on the film as you read subtitles; a great compliment to the cinematography. A

Rewatchability: I would watch this movie over and over and still see something different each time. However, this film definitely seems to focus its attention on captivating the elderly audience and I am sure they would have a different opinion of the film, so age could be a limiting factor. B

Overall Grade: A-

Quick movie based thoughts

"The reserve of modern assertions is sometimes pushed to extremes, in which the fear of being contradicted leads the writer to strip himself of all sense and meaning."

--Winston Churchill

• Even though this year's list of Oscar nominees was easily the best group since 1994 and I was very excited for the hosts they chose. The Oscars ended but being a total snore. It was pretty obvious who the winners were going to be and I cannot say that I disagreed with any of them. It was nice to see the internal nepotism that has plagued the Oscars the past five years was done away with this year, giving the awards to the most deserving people, especially Colin Firth who was totally screwed over last year by the Academy feeling sorry for Jeff Bridges. I don't care what anyone says, Crazyheart sucked major donkey balls of a Texas sized proportion.

• My one complaint about the Oscars: why wasn't Daft Punk nominated for best original score? They were the only good thing about Tron. Perhaps my dear friend over at This Song Starts a Craze can shed some light on this one.

• I have been watching a lot of Science Fiction type things recently. Go figure right? In doing so, I have come to the conclusion that Isaac Asimov's Laws of Robotics absolutely fail when programmed machines somehow evolve and gain sentience. For those of you who are not nearly nerdy enough to know Asmiov's Three Laws of Robotics they are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.


2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.


3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

It all boils down to not destroying the creator and so a lot of these robotic evolutionary movies are breaking Asimov's laws because they hate Asimov and he has no idea what translates into good cinema *cough, cough* I, Robot. Or Asimov is simply wrong and narrow minded about robotic evolution (I cannot believe I just said that). Perhaps he did not realize how religiously based his laws were. I don't know there is a lot to ramble on here. The one thing I do know for sure is that I have been watching far too much Battlestar Galactica.

• Finally, Korean cinema is probably the most underrated foreign film genre that I have seen so far. In the most hipster of terms, Korean cinema is the new Bollywood, since Bollywood has sold out and gone the way of Hong Kong cinema, or is on the verge of doing so anyway. Nothing against Bollywood or Hong Kong Cinema there are some great movies that have come out of both regions, but Korea seems to be the next untapped film region, and I really hope it doesn't get spoiled by Hollywood like Japan and Sweden have. I will never forgive the fact that someone green lighted American remakes of Let the Right One In (AND decided to call it LET ME IN?!?!?!?!?) or Ringu.

I think I might be back for real this time. Maybe...

Get on the Oscar hype bus

I don't often do this. But I am very excited for this years Oscars already for the mere fact that there are two astonishingly great looking movies coming out that will most certainly garner a lot of "best picture," "best actor/actress," and "best supporting actor/actress" attention. But also show that despite all the hype that has come out for Social Network, the so-called modern Citizen Kane, it will fall by the wayside in favor of two very interesting and artistic films.

The first being The King's Speech, starring Colin Firth as King George VI, Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth II, and Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue. It follows the story of George VI as he battles with his stammer and his public image during the advent of WWII. From the trailer it looks to be one of the most put together casts and the trailer really shows how well they fed off each other I cannot wait for this film to come out! It will be interesting to see how they show the interactions between George VI and Winston Churchill, one man considered to be one of the best orators in history and another who suffered from speech impediment. The juxtaposition in the film I think is what really excites me most about this film. But I also hope that this will make up for the disgrace of the Academy choosing Jeff Bridges over Colin Firth for best actor last year.

Secondly, is a movie of a much different pace and style. A film from a director who is really beginning to show that he is a Hollywood force and not just an Indie darling...finally. This film is Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. A film which made me jump the second I saw the first pictures. A film that I waited at my computer like so many did for Lady Gaga's Alessandro music video. Yes, I am nerd. Yes, I am okay with it. This also sports a wonderful cast, of people that I feel are often overlooked for their ability--excluding of course Natalie Portman. But the supporting cast looks dynamite and behind the expert eye of Aronofsky this film should be one that does not disappoint. It looks like Aronofsky will achieve something the Coen brothers could not do a few years back getting all the attention in the world from No Country for Old Men then quickly delivering the disturbingly bad Burn After Reading. Aronofsky's return to the screen following the incredibly successful The Wrestler, should not disappoint and I encourage all to see both films.

My hat is in the ring for both of these films, even though I expect the Academy to disappoint me yet again.

Also as a side note I would like to mention that I will not be surprised to see Winnebago Man get an Oscar nod for best documentary and though it was a very basic film, it did justice to and for a cult following and truly deserves a nomination, if only for the fact that it will pioneer a new type of independent documentary style in the coming years. At least I certainly hope it does.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps but the audience does

“Did you hear? We are a don’t buy!”
--George Michael Bluth

I have been disappointed by Oliver Stone more times than I care to share. Yet somehow I just cannot stop watching his films, most of which are terrible attempts at historical drama. So if you take Oliver Stone’s directorial career and put his movies on a rating line with Alexander at one end representing the worst of his movies and JFK and Nixon on the other end for the best of his career and everything else falling in between. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps can sit safely in the middle. To put it simply this film was two hours and seven minutes of meh. But this movie really had so much potential and just couldn’t quite live up to it.

The movie takes place roughly two years ago (that’s 2008 for those of you who are numerically challenged). Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas: Traffic, Wall street, The Game) has been released from prison and is picking up the pieces of his life. His estranged daughter Winnie Gekko (Carey Mulligan: An Education, Pride and Prejudice, Public Enemies) is getting engaged to Jake (or Jacob, because it changed every other time they said his name) Moore a young, hungry, stockbroker played by Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, Eagle Eye, Constantine). This awkward love triangle and its generally poor acting is supported by a cast of greats including Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon, Good Night and Good Luck, Junior); Josh Brolin (W., No Country for Old Men, The Goonies, Milk); Susan Sarandon (Bull Durham, Elizabethtown, The Lovely Bones); and Eli Wallach (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Holiday, Keeping the Faith). Even Charlie Sheen makes a cameo as his character Bud Fox from the original Wall Street.

Douglas jumped right back into his role as Gekko and did a wonderful job, especially considering that he expected people to not trust him throughout the movie (both the characters and the audience) and he does a tremendous job of really trying to pull you back into his corner, even if you want to hold him at arms length. Mulligan and LaBeouf really struggled to have any on-screen chemistry, which can easily be attributed to LaBeouf’s terrible acting. He really has not improved since he left Even Stevens; clearly it was not all Meagan Fox’s fault that both Transformers movies were awful. Okay Michael Bay played a huge hand in those multi-million dollar travesties too. Sorry, got off track, those films still anger me.

Anywho, Gekko was one small bright spot in the film. The supporting cast another, because the completely jumped into their roles head first and really took the care to make their characters their own, which as I mentioned earlier was in stark contrast to the main characters’ short comings. But, I think one of my favorite parts about the movie was the entire motif in which the film was designed. Despite being a modern criticism of US and global economic practices and using actual events as the setting of the film, Stone was constantly making homage to the excess of the 1980s and made it clear that he wanted Wall Street and all of the executives who profited from the deception of others, to look as if they were living their lives trapped in a time of financial boon and that on a social level they were oblivious to the actual financial crisis while they were out of the office. Even the soundtrack, which consisted entirely of David Byrne/Talking Heads and Brian Eno songs served to set a very 1980s mood. Stone also utilized the fear mongering and rumors that the media and Wall Street used to create a greater scare as a primary plot device and motivator for the film. But sadly he didn’t take it far enough.

He still fell back on wrapping everything up nicely where everyone lives happily ever after with the exception of the one bad guy who made sure he profited at everyone’s expense including his own. However, even the old executives still made it out clean and their lives were turning around, which can be social commentary on its own, but it was too clean and polished by the end. This Wall Street really lacked that strong “dust settling moment” at the end of the film where people try and pick themselves up from the rubble. You find yourself waiting and waiting and it never comes. However, Stone’s biggest failure was his attempt at artistic metaphor. He constantly kept referring to Goya’s “Saturn Devouring His Son” from Goya’s late Black period. I have seen the painting at the Prado in Madrid and it is a very haunting painting, but Stone only uses it at face value to demonstrate the darkness of the times and Wall Street’s tendency to destroy anything to maintain power. Stone did not fully extend this to Gekko other than him taking money away from his daughter and his future son-in-law. He did not cripple them and he was not eventually taken down the way Saturn was taken down by Jupiter in the end. Nope, by the end of the movie nothing happens to Gekko, he profits and remains out of trouble and the story ends. Very disappointing.

Overall, a valiant effort to pick up where Wall Street left off and make it a film that holds some salient value in today’s world. I find that the movie as a form of social criticism could have gone farther instead of eventually falling in line with everything the media and Washington D.C. have already told us. Moreover, the financial crisis issues increasingly became a mere backdrop for a poor excuse of a love story, which hindered it overall quality as a film. Other films have done it so much better. If you really liked the original film I would see this one for novelty’s sake but if your looking for a biting social critique and a great fictional tale, Instead go rent the original Wall street and pick up a copy of the New York Times or Wall Street Journal.

Making the Grade

Acting: While Shia LaBarf and Carey Mulligan struggled through the entire film, Michael Douglas and the rest of the supporting cast were all around excellent, demonstrating greed, false hope and everything that Wall Street has truly become. B-

Special Effects/Visuals: Stone needs to stop trying to get overly artistic with his camera work, for a straightforward historical-fiction based film, the drama should already be built in and the camera work should not have to be the driving force of the tension. Or at least trying to be that driving force. There were one or two scenes that did wow me though. D+

Music: The soundtrack was great Byrne and Eno are two of the greater voices of their generation and their art-rock, glam-rock genre. The music suited the film nicely, though there are points taken off for the use of “This Must be the Place (Naïve Melody)” by the Talking Heads. It has become the most cliché, feel-good-at-the-end-of-a-film song and is not the last thing I want to hear at the end of any movie. B+

Re-Watchability: As I said before. Meh. I really only see this movie being re-watched if you were watching the original Wall Street and this one back to back for novelty sake. It doesn’t provide and explanation or possible answer to the current financial crisis so it probably won’t be too socially or culturally relevant in a few years time. While enjoyable once, it is also entirely forgettable too. D

Overall Grade: C-

The horror of discovery

"All these horror movies are slasher film now. I like them, they're fun, but they wink at the audience and you're really not terrified through the movie."
--Gina Philips

So to make up for the lack of writing I did over the past couple of weeks I had a flourish of writing over the long weekend, but no computer to post with. So there will be several consecutive post here these next few days. I just have to transcribble my hand written stuff to this here computation device. At any rate. Here is the first of three.

I have been watching a fair amount of horror movies recently, good ones, bad ones, campy ones, the works. But there was one thing that stuck out to me that I feel is one of the greatest and probably more overlooked part of the horror movie genre. Most bloggers and blogettes (bloggesses (? wait no there is only one bloggess apparently)) focus on the monsters or the subject matter of the horror genre and rightfully so, because they are fun topics. But me I like to nit-pick and talk about minutiae, which is probably why there is only one other person that reads my blog...but I digress. I clearly have chosen a much different topic and so... I give you ladies, and bacillus (that's the smart way of saying germs), what I can only describe as the moment of horrific discovery. Or the discovery if you are into the whole brevity thing.

The moment of horrific discovery is the point where the protagonist or group of protagonists finds the first gruesome bit of whatever that spells the beginning of the end for them. I find that quite often the most macho man or the ditsy big boobed female supporting role are the ones to make such discoveries, and you know they will live just long enough to tell everyone what they saw, or not tell everyone to spite them and then die once everything is revealed. Ahh stereotypes.

At any rate here are my top five favorite types of horrific discovery that reveal for most of the characters that "the end is extremely fucking nigh."

5. The dripping, evil fluid on the shoulder

It can be blood, some snot like looking gak, cocoon fluid, drool, it really doesn't matter because it is classic. It becomes even better when the dripping fluid is acidic and burns through the skin of the unlucky victim. This one is usually found in horror movies featuring animals or aliens of some sort but its always great. However, this one only makes it to five because it is repeated a lot and sometimes well after the horror has been established. For example in 28 Days Later when the father gets the infected blood in his eye and begins to zombify. The whole zombie bit was well established but the discovery of the transformation from human to disease riddled undead was still really cool to watch and super dramatic. The drippy evil fluid discovery moment is simple and sweet and that is what makes it so memorable.

4. The ole' switcheroo

This can happen a number of ways, but basically the thing the character thought they were touching, eating, petting, having sex with, suddenly ends up being something different or something that is just no longer alive. This is one of those discovery moments that happens commonly in slasher flicks. The couple out at "heavy petting point" in the convertible, things getting hot, one person goes down on the other and reaches up or comes up for air and their significant fuck-buddy is without a head. That is the switcheroo. Other times it could be someone eating something delicious and wonderful and then they jam their spoon into that delicious bowl of food and come up with an eyeball or their drink is suddenly blood. That is the switcheroo. But my favorite switcheroo comes from one of the campiest movies of all time: From Dusk Till Dawn not because of Selma Hayek, not because of the hilarious dialogue, and not because of the penis gun in Sex Machine's pants. It is because the switcheroo is so complete that the band is even playing instruments made out of body parts. Just watch:



3. Falling Limbs

This is one that is not used much as a form of horrific discovery, but when it is used it is done to perfection. It is one that is seen more commonly in zombie films where a zombie arm falls out of nowhere to grab the shoulder of some unsuspecting human. I particularly love it when that one character who 30 minutes into the film went off by themselves to take a shit or something gets attacked but somehow barely survives to semi-warn the others that something is out there. The character does this by slamming their blood covered hand on an unsuspecting human only to reveal that he/she was attacked by something but dying right before he/she actually reveals what it is. Classic horror plot movement. Sadly there are very few films where the horrific discovery involves a falling detached limb, that usually comes later in the film like in when Samuel Jackson's arm falls on Laura Dern in Jurassic Park. Nevertheless the falling limb gimmick is one of those time honored horror trends that is meant purely for shock value but never ceases to entertain no matter how predictable it may be.

2. And behind door #1...

I also call this the "Head on the Door" moment of discovery, yes that is a Cure reference, yes I am okay with that. Think about the song "Close to Me" by The Cure.

"Just try to see in the dark
Just try to make it work
To feel the fear before you're here
I make the shapes come much too close
I pull my eyes out
Hold my breath
And wait until i shake..."

Pretty much describes what I am talking about here. This is one of those moments when somebody in the horror movie thinks they see something go around the corner or through the hall, and at first they don't see anything. They get called crazy, they get ignored, so on and so forth, when suddenly they see something not alive, not human reveal itself in an ominous manner, like slowly turning around to reveal blood, and perhaps a weapon or a human head. The character is thinking, "if only i was sure that my head on the door was a dream," indeed. I guess Robert Smith really liked horror movies, and it kind of makes you think twice about those songs you used to slow dance to with your girlfriend huh?


1. Cute little animal with limb in mouth













This is by far my favorite type of horrific discovery, because it is so disturbingly funny. It often involves a dog, and if you are lucky or watching a suberbly awful horror film, a little child. It typically goes a little something like this:

"Hey [insert ironic and cliche dog name here] what'cha got there?"
Dog growls and continues to chomp on prize
"OH MY GOD it's a human hand!!!!! WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE"

Something like that. The point is its the perfect mix of cute, disgusting and funny all mixed into one little package. It's so simple of a reveal that something is afoul that it just gets overlooked as campy humor, but to me this is one of the best ways to throw people into the action of a horror film be it award winning (if there is such a thing in the horror genre) or ultimo camp the world champion luchador of campy horror films --which as of this moment is being disputed by Human Centipede and Trolls 2.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World vs. the critics

"The rate at which a person can mature is directly proportional of the embarrassment he can tolerate."
--Douglas Englebart

I am going to come right out and say it. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is not for everyone. But it is for most of those Generation X and Generation Y people, like me, who grew up with comics, video games, indie rock music, an increased focus and value on fashion and an unequivocally short attention span. We should really be called the ADD generation...in fact consider it coined. We now officially the ADD/ADHD generation. And ADD generation I give you my review of Scott Pilgri.....hey look a butterfly.

This movie starts out with a bang, turning the Universal Pictures production screen and theme music into an 8-bit piece of joy that was not only very creative but set the pace for the movie from the get-go. The guy behind me who complained throughout the movie really should have realized what he was getting into at this point and walked out.

The story, without giving anything away, is based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley. It follows Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera: Superbad, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist) an out of work, disenfranchised, Canadian 22 year old, struggling through life and women to make sense of the world while his band tries to make it big. He meets a girl, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead: Live Free or Die Hard, Death Proof, Factory Girl) and in order to date her and essentially live happily ever after has to defeat her seven evil exes played by Satya Babha, Chris Evans, Mae Whitman (who played Ann on Arrested Development), Brandon Routh, Keita Saitou, Shota Saito and Jason Schwartzman.

I know what you are thinking the plot sounds unoriginal and boring. But it is so far from the truth. The writing is witty in a way that only Cera can deliver, which is helped when he is surrounded by people like Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down, The Secret Lives of Altar Boys, The Cider House Rules) and Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air, Twilight Series). I would like to add that Culkin has surpassed his brother Macaulay Culkin by leaps and bounds. Along with the writing though the plot is made original by the seamless incorporation of dream sequences, video game references and graphic novel imagery. Th film is quick, sharp and has fully embraced and pokes fun at its nerdiness and it hipster attitude. At one point during the movie in the background you can clearly hear someone say, "yeah but their first album was so much better than their first album," or the in the first fight scene the passing comment that, "pirates are in this year," completely poking fun at the elitist hipster stereotype that comes with the indie rock and fashion scenes nowadays.

The cinematography is creative, metaphorical and makes countless references and homages to pop-culture and the influences of the original graphic novels. But the sensory joyride does not stop there. The soundtrack, which is arguably the glue that holds the film together as Scott Pilgrim's band: Sex Bob-omb and their struggles parallel the struggles that Scott Pilgrim has in his basic relationships. The music is clearly influenced by Plumtree who was the original inspiration for O'Malley's graphic novels, as well as the general indie/garage/grunge sound that came out of Canada in the 1990s.

Overall, Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) did an excellent job shooting, casting and writing this film. He could have easily made this your standard-fair, nerdy romantic comedy based on a cult comic film (yes I know the difference between a graphic novel and a comic so don't start complaining yet fanboys, fangirls and fantrans*). Instead, Wright tried to be as inventive as possible, placing O'Malley's own imagery directly into the film as well as being influenced and resembling work by a wealth of different directors includin: Aronofsky, Kubrick, Tetsuya Nomura and Tarsem.

This movie is much more worthwhile than Dinner for Schmucks (2 hour snoozer, go see the original French version) or the Other Guys (actors doing the same role...again).

Making the Grade

Acting: This is easily Michael Cera's best movie, really using his awkward nature to its fullest potential. Mary Elizabeth has definitely set herself apart from a lot of female actors as a lead with a range of talent. Kieran Culkin steals many of the scenes that he is in, and has been likened to a young Robert Downy Jr. (minus all the blow). Jason Schwartzman and Chris Evans lead a supporting cast that is funny, and just as engaging as of the leads. A-

Special effects/Visuals: Stunning, most films geared towards young adults of the ADHD generation are not typically visually pleasing unless they have a ton of explosions, but this film takes on a very artistic albeit nerdy tone, making for film that makes you never want to take your eyes off the screen. A

Music: The music really sets the tone for the entire film and is incorporated in a way that shows its importance but doesn't take away from the general flow of the film. The music can be a little too similar, and if you are not into the Canadian indie scene and prefer something a little more auto-tuned and Kanye West-like, you are not going to enjoy the soundtrack one bit. Though the music also suplements the comedy in its own way. B+

Re-watchability: I doubt I will ever get tired of this film there is so much to see throughout the entire movie that you could find yourself watching background and not follow the plot and still be entertained. If you haven't yet see this film as soon as possi...ooh a puppy. A

Overall Grade: A-

*I have met a very aggressive treky who also happened to be a tranny as well, so I am not just be PC here. I am writing this on a Mac how can I be?

Show her the totem...

THE TOP DID NOT FALL.

In case you wanted my opinion.