I Miss U all my Blog

Carl Fredrickson grew up fascinated with adventure but was too afraid to actually do anything, until he met the girl that would become his wife in Ellie. He and Ellie planned to have glorious adventures and travels together but of course life intefeared right up through Ellie’s death. Carl’s whole world was Ellie and without her he never expanded and learned to deal with the outside world. When the city rules that Carl needs to move into a retirement home he rigs his house to become a flying vessel with hundreds of balloons and tries to follow the flight path his idol Charles Muntz to Paradise Falls – where he and Ellie always wanted to go. However, Carl accidently picks up hitchhiker Russell whom Carl sent on a snipe-hunt. Together Carl and Russell make their way to Paradise Falls and discover that Muntz is still there.

Up is a beautiful movie. It’s full of symbols, well-rounded characters you can connect with, imagination, stunning visuals and more than anything else it is a film that knows what it wants to tell you and how it wants to tell it. There is no wasted space in a pixar film. From start to finish every shot, line and beat is plotted, purposeful and concise in a way that no one else can do simply because it is what their production process dictates. This perfection has led to making Up one of the most beautiful movies I’ve seen this year.

Perhaps what I love best about Up is that it is a movie about fatherhood. Carl Freidrickson is an old man that never got a chance to be a father. He and Ellie tried but couldn’t become parents; once Ellie was gone this left Carl alone in the world until Russell accidently came into his life. Russell is the child that Carl never had. Though Carl is annoyed and aggravated by Russell he slowly comes to develop affection for the boy; this happens in large part because Russell needs a father. As Russell talks incessantly to Carl he begins to reveal that his parents are divorced, and he rarely sees or talks to his father – this has lead Russell to Carl’s doorstep, literally. Russell joined the Wildreness Scouts because it’s something fathers are supposed to do with their sons. When that doesn’t work to get his father’s attention he earns every badge in existence, because the fathers are supposed to come to the ceremony to pin them on, and when that doesn’t work he goes after the final badge which will lead him to his promotion and Carl – the helping the elderly badge. As their adventures wind to a close Carl realizes that Russell needs him as much as he needs Russell and the actualization of this is beautiful.

I am not a crier at movies. However, Up had me very close to crying. I dare you to not be emotionally affected by the montage of Carl’s life with Ellie, or the ending sequence between Russell and Carl. Also, Dug the dog cannot be missed.

Directors & Writers: Pete Doctor & Bob Peterson
Carl Fredricksen: Ed Asner
Charles Muntz: Christopher Plummer
Russell: Jordan Nagai
Dug: Bob Peterson
Beta: Delroy Lindo

Carl Fredricksen: This is crazy. I finally meet my childhood hero and he's trying to kill us. What a joke.
Dug: Hey, I know a joke! A squirrel walks up to a tree and says, "I forgot to gather acorns for the winter and now I am dead." Ha ha! It's funny because the squirrel gets dead.

Alright, alright. I know it’s not really appropriate to be excited about Christmas yet, but for some reason for the first time in forever I really am stoked about the holidays. I’m making a Halloween costume and I felt like watching Elf (though I can kind of blame that one on my Iron Man obsession). Elf is a great holiday movie, and just a genuinely good comedy. I really do think it’s a modern classic.

Elf is the story of Buddy who wiggles his way into Santa’s sack when Santa visits his orphanage and Santa doesn’t know until baby Buddy crawls back out of his sack at the North Pole. Papa Elf always wanted children so Santa lets him raise buddy as his own and so he grows up believing he is an elf until one day he overhears a few of the other elves discussing how sad it is that Buddy doesn’t know he’s a bad Elf because he’s actually a human. This leads Buddy onto the journey of his life as he goes to New York to find his real father and discovers the wonders of the real world. When Buddy enters New York everyone assumes he is crazy as he so fiercely believes he is an elf, but with his persistence he infects everyone around him with a joy and innocence they had long forgotten.

While I am not a giant Will Ferrell fan, I don’t dislike him; I genuinely think that no one else could have played Buddy. Job Favreau knew what he was doing when he cast the actors in this film. Ferrell stands out in sharp contrast to everyone else because of the goofiness he is capable of exuding while still being committed to the genuine goals of the character.

Watching this movie makes me realize even more that I truly am a fan of Jon Favreau as a director. Elf is yet another example of how Favreau is incredibly capable to put together a good, worthwhile movie and make it one that is not dated, or tired after repeat viewings. He knows how to cast a movie, how to compose shots, and just how to make you care about a character.

Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: David Berenbaum
Buddy: Will Ferrell
Walter: James Caan
Papa Elf: Bob Newhart
Santa: Ed Asner
Emily: Mary Steenburgen
Jovie: Zooey Deschanel
Michael: Daniel Tay
Gimbel’s Manager: Faizon Love
Miles Finch: Peter Drinklage
Deb: Amy Sedaris

Santa: That's another thing... Buddy you should know that your father... he's on the naughty list.
Buddy: Nooooo!