I loved ParaNorman.

The stop-motion looked as fluid as CGI! Like, I was pretty sure I'd heard it was stop-motion, but it was so hard to tell that I thought I was wrong. There were only a few jerky moments here and there where it looked stop-motion-y.

There were some moments that I did think would have played better on the big screen, but it still looked great.

I didn't expect it to make me tear up (at the scene where his sister stood up for him ). And then when the climax rolled around, I was basically crying for the rest of the movie. What the hell.

The reveal of the witch was wrenching, it was so "but she's just a little girl!"

There were some moments that I did think would have played better on the big screen

I saw it in 3D on the big screen because it was Laika and they did Coraline.

And the one scene that was mind-blowing in 3D on the big screen was the final confrontation between Norman and the Witch Girl when she's shooting out electric bolts of angst.

Oh, yeah, that would have been cool.

From the trailers, I thought the movie was a silly, fun romp about a kid fighting zombies, but it's a powerful story about outsiders and how people treat them, about the dangers of judging—and condemning—people for being different. It's the best Tim Burton animated movie not made by Tim Burton.

Laika's next feature film project:

“The Boxtrolls is a visually dazzling mash-up of gripping detective story, absurdist comedy, and steampunk adventure with a surprisingly wholesome heart. It’s Dickens by way of Monty Python. Tony and Graham have crafted a strange and beautiful world replete with fantastical creatures, good-for-nothing reprobates, madcap antics, and rip-roaring feats of derring-do. But at its core, like all LAIKA films, The Boxtrolls is a moving and human story with timelessness and powerful emotional resonance. We’re thrilled to partner with Focus Features and Universal to bring this remarkable story to family audiences around the world.”

Ooh, this was Chris Butler's first movie. I'll be interested to see what he does next.

I just watched She Hate Me--oddly I went into it to see an Anthony Mackie film, not realising it was a joint until some way in.

Not a good joint, either. The narrative is disjointed, and apart from the things all happening to one guy, I don't see why they're in one movie.

And the ending makes Chasing Amy look...ally-tastic.

Beau and I watched two movies tonight:

Life of Pi and a French movie Sleepless Night. Pi is a good movie, but I am disappointed in that I think the movie could have been EXCELLENT. I loved the first half of the movie. Just loved it - and I thought the movie was going to be about Pi. It most definitely was not about him, but about his journey (spiritual and physical). I think about what an interesting young man he was at the beginning of the film and just about all of that was washed out (no pun intended) by the boat accident and what followed. It seems to me to be a real shame because I wanted to know more about Pi. I realize that this means the religious/spiritual aspect were somewhat lost on me. Maybe the book links this a bit better.

I just think about what could have been done with this story. For example, at the beginning of the movie, the boy's father tries to warn his son about the brutality of the tiger and makes him watch while a tiger kills a goat in a vicious fashion. This was because Pi had become too careless around the tiger. It seems to me this is a powerful precursor to the tiger in the main story - whether that symbolized Pi or not, although especially if it did symbolize him.

But the lessons I take from it are apparently not the same lessons the author wanted readers to take from it.

The second movie was really gritty. It is about a couple of French men who do a bold heist and a drug lord retaliates. The movie is action-packed, not particularly realistic, but it felt like a Jason Statham movie - with a less charismatic leading man. It is not boring, a little trite, and the ending is a bit abrupt. I could probably see Steve McQueen doing a version of this movie 40 years ago.

It's funny that you say that because, in my memory of the book, which I really liked, while the opening was longish (some might say boring), most of it was on the boat. There are explanations of his name and life, but not to the extent that's in the movie, and I don't remember getting a good idea of his family. Plus, he's younger, so the girl is a complete invention of the film.

But it has been some time since I read it.

I think the major flaw with the movie, besides the awkwardness of the bookends, is that the opening should have been cut way down.

Thanks for the heads up re: Sleepless Night. I love the idea of a film that is part Luxembourgeois!