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!

heh. I liked the opening! I thought the boat part is the part that got boring. How funny.

Let me know if you see SN.

I have now officially seen more people sneering how Catwoman Only Won Her Award Because It Was One Take With No Cuts than I've seen people claiming Catwoman Should Get The Award Because It Was One Take With No Cuts.

You should have heard my son complaining How She Should Have Gotten The Oscar For Playing Catwoman Because Batman Is Awesome And Who Wants To Watch A Movie About Being Miserable Anyway.

She should have gotten an Oscar for Rachel Getting Married, but I'd have accepted a Dark Knight Rises Oscar. Actually, I'm perfectly happy with the Les Miserables Oscar even though I haven't seen it yet.

I'm an unabashed Anne Hathaway fan, though, so I can possibly be safely ignored.