THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX - He's Fantastic Alright

I am deeply conflicted over Wes Anderson. RUSHMORE is my all-time favorite movie. I greatly enjoy BOTTLE ROCKET. THE ROYAL TENNENBAUMS annoyed me to no end. I sort of liked THE LIFE AQUATIC. And could not stand THE DARJEELING LIMITED. In a way, I feel the same way about him that I do about M. Night Shymalan -- the guy peaked early with a great film, and he's basically been trying the same trick again and again with diminishing returns.

So I approached THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX with great trepidation. Like almost everyone, I love Roald Dahl. And I love stop-motion animation. But, it's Wes Anderson, so I expected self-conscious dialogue, a 70s color-palette, odd suits and sportcoats, awkward, introspective characters with father issues, and a British Invasion soundtrack.

FANTASTIC MR. SPOILERS BELOW

And it has almost all of those things. What it also has, is a real sense of heart. And the film is absolutely gorgeous. Eschewing CGI is a wise choice, and the look of the film is old school and handmade. The fur on the characters ruffles as they move from frame to frame, making it quirky and charming.

But back to the story. Mr. Fox promised his wife he'd give up thieving after they share a near-death experience. But he loves stealing, so he gets back into it in secret. His son Ash feels like his hero dad doesn't appreciate him, a feeling only exacerbated by the arrival of Ash's cousin, Kristofferson, whom Mr. Fox drafts into his robbery plans. When the three farmers Fox has been robbing team up to kill him, it places all the animals in the valley in jeopardy. And it's up to Fox to pull off one last daring scheme to save them all.

All of this works remarkably well, which is odd, considering this is a kid's movie dressed up in the quirks of an indie director that include corduroy suits and a 70s color pallete, a made-up sport called Whackbat, some lifted/homage dialogue from REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, meditation, and folks constantly swearing by using the word "cuss" instead of actual cuss words.

We understand why Fox is driven to steal, his wife's frustration at that, his son's upset at feeling weird and like his father isn't proud of him, and Fox's realization that he's hurt everyone he loves. We cheer when Fox one-ups the farmers, react in horror when the animals might starve to death, and get choked up when Fox finally tells his son how proud he is of him.

There are nice moments of humor, especially with the "cussing" and a recurring joke with drugged blueberries taking out bloodhounds and a fat farmer.

This is a great example -- much like Pixar films -- of how a kids' movie can work for the whole family by having a simple story that's underlaid by sophisticated emotions and theme.

And it's cussing fantastic.

Blindsided by THE BLIND SIDE

The trailers for THE BLIND SIDE made it seem a little sappy. And by "a little," I mean "Hallmark Channel Christmas movie." But the girlfriend wanted to see it, and after some kicking and screaming on my part, I went.

I shouldn't have been so reluctant. Written and directed by John Lee Hancock -- a hell of a writer and a solid director -- TBS adapts Michael Lewis' book about the evolution of football in the wake of Lawrence Taylor, focusing wisely on the unlikely story of a rich white Texas couple adopting a poor black kid who grows up to become a pro left tackle.

I had absolutely no problems with the script or the film. All the moments that could be sappy weren't. The film takes its time getting to know the characters, so you feel the emotions they're feeling. This nicely sets up all the fear and uncertainty Big Mike has, and you root for the kid, enjoying the simple moments of fun with his new family and tearing up when he says things like he's never had his own bed before.

Hancock succeeds in making a film for the whole family, one that tells a nice, uplifting story.

And most surprising of all was Tim McGraw, playing Sean Tuohy. McGraw was so good, I didn't even realize it was him until I saw the end credits.

NINJA ASSASSIN - This Ninja's Just A'ight

Other than the folks at Silver Pictures, there probably wasn't anybody in the world as excited about the release of NINJA ASSASSIN as I was. I love ninjas. And assassins. So the two together? Forget about it.

SPOILERS SNEAKING UP ON YOU BELOW

NINJA ASSASSIN is the story of Rizo, a ninja exiled from his clan and seeking revenge. A Europol (I guess it's the budget version of Interpol) researcher named Mika thinks that ninjas are behind some of the recent political assassinations, but can't get anyone to believe her. Eventually, Rizo's former clan comes after Mika, and he must save her. The two team up to take down the clan.

The film, directed by James McTeigue, looks great. Ninjas come out of the shadows, there are several really cool shots, including a fight scene played out in shadows on a paper screen, and the action scenes are well-covered so you can actually tell what's going on.

What the story, from uber-writer J. Michael Straczynski and Matthew Sand is missing is good motivations for Rizo or Mika. Mika is a forensic researcher who thinks ninjas killed a former KBG agent, and she doggedly pursues it because... Well, we don't really know why. The script missed a great opportunity to personally stake her in the action. Perhaps ninjas killed her former partner or her boss. And nobody believes her ninja theory -- she's as seemingly crazy as Gary Busey in POINT BREAK. Similarly, the film stumbles over Rizo's motivation. He's in love with a female ninja trainee who tries to escape the clan; the clan kills her. Later on, after Rizo's first mission, he's asked to kill another female escapee. So he turns on his clan and flees. That's a very mediocre motivation.

What would have been better is if the film played up the rivalry between Rizo and his "brother" ninja. They both love the female ninja trainee. But she chooses Rizo. Rizo and his brother then fight over her; she's afraid Rizo will be killed. Brother is much stronger and faster; perhaps he's older. So she flees in order to spare him. Unfortunately, she's caught. And brother kills her out of spite. This would work better than the current version in the film, where brother kills her just to annoy Rizo. In the better version, after his love's death, Rizo flees the clan. Years later, when he and brother meet up again, they have real history between them -- they both loved the same woman.

There are also a number of smaller issues with the script, mostly logical ones. Ninjas are obviously highly secretive, managing to stay undercover for thousands of years. Yet there's a scene in the film where dozens of ninjas run down a major Berlin street, chasing both Mika's car and Rizo. In fact, Mika's car is studded with hundreds of throwing stars. That's not exactly low-profile.

The film also features a climactic showdown between Rizo and his adopted father, the ninja clan leader. Clan leader has a deadly ability -- he can basically teleport around, appearing and disappearing at will. An ability he uses to kick Rizo's ass. Until Rizo suddenly -- and out of nowhere -- learns how to do this and uses the trick to kill clan leader. An unearned and unsatisfying turn of events. Instead, the film should have gone back to something it set up earlier; clan leader forces Rizo to be without one of his senses for an entire year, starting with his sense of sight. Rizo learns to fight by sensing his opponent rather than seeing him. In the climactic battle, with his clan leader appearing and disappearing on him, Rizo should use that memory/lesson to wait and listen for the leader reapparing. If Rizo killed clan leader in that fashion, it would have been a great callback and a cool moment that paid off his years of training.

THE (Long and Winding) ROAD

I have a love-hate relationship with Cormac McCarthy. Well, films made from his books anyway. Seems like they'd be movies I love -- after all, most them are super-violent and depressing. ALL THE PRETTY HORSES was long and boring. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN was 2/3 of an awesome movie, and then a super-frustrating ending that went literally nowhere (I suspect this worked fantastically well in the novel, however; but in a movie, you really don't want to see your protagonist die off-screen to random characters, or wait all film for a showdown between the sheriff and the bad guy that never comes).

APOCALYPTIC SPOILERS BELOW

Ably directed by John Hillcoat (who also helmed the equally fine THE PROPOSITION), THE ROAD was adapted by Joe Penhall. It tells the story of an unnamed father and son eking out an existence after an unspecified apocalypse. All animals are gone, food is scarce, and most of the remaining people have turned to cannibalism. Pretty much all the good folks have committed suicide in these bleak circumstances. But the father takes his son down the road towards the coast, seeking out signs of hope. Like all road movies, THE ROAD is episodic and picaresque. And it has its moments of utter despair, like when dad -- who's saved his last two bullets -- teaches his son the proper way to stick a gun in your mouth and fire it. But these are lessened by small moments of joy -- aiding an elderly traveler, drinking the last can of Coke in the world, coming across a bunker filled with food, sharing a bath and a haircut -- that manage to move the film out of the realm of slit-your-wrists (unlike some other great films that are too depressing to ever watch again, including HAPPINESS and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM).

There are some nice moments of sheer terror, like when the father and son stumble across a home with a basement full of still-living cannibal fodder and they have to flee as the cannibals come back; or a chase across a field of collapsing trees.

Ultimately, the elegant script manages to evoke a nice message -- that we have to accept not everything is under our control; which comes across just as the father is dying.

For a film in which there's so much blackness, you leave the theater uplifted. A nice touch.