Up.

From Pixar comes another delightfully fresh, inspiring and heart-warming film, Up, directed and written by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson. It tells the story of the unlikely-old man protagonist, complete with crabby face and walker - Carl Fredricksen (voiced by Edward Asner), who, with the innovative idea of helium balloons, leaves his city behind in search of Paradise Falls, half-inspired by his childhood hero and explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer - think Captain Von Trapp), and half in a bid to keep his promise to his recently deceased wife, Ellie. However, Carl does not make the journey alone - due to an unexpected twist of events, he finds himself with Russell, a loquacious young boy with a short attention span and an enthusiasm for exploring. After a storm (perhaps symbolic of the obstacles along the path we aspire to follow), the two of them reach Paradise Falls, and what follows is a very interesting adventure concerning Carl, Russell, a rather goofy dog and a colourful bird, as well as a half-crazed explorer (none other than Charles Muntz himself), not to forget the Greek-alphabet named pack of dogs!

First up, kudos to Pixar and Disney for consistently coming out with fantastically-animated films, each of which has different themes from the next. While the theme of Ratatouille was self-discovery and hidden talent, and the theme of Wall.E was environmental awareness, the theme for Up - well, there are many.

There is the thread of following through with unfulfilled promises - the wish to make it happen, whatever it is, no matter what comes along. The desire to go ahead with something you've always wanted, either because you promised it to yourself, or to a loved one. Carl's journey is more than just a journey - it is a travel to give his childhood sweetheart and his love the one thing she missed - travel

Parenthood - realised and unrealised, also crops up again and again. Ellie's inability to have children finds an inverse reflection in Russell, the young boy who almost becomes one with Carl. There is also a slight hint of bad parenting, if one watches carefully - Russell talks about past outings with his father, things that he misses doing with him, and how he has been distanced, forcefully. Contrast the absent yet unpleasant father with Ellie, who never had the opportunity to become a mother.

In Up, unlikely friendships are forged, and you are riveted at not only the constant attention to detail (notice the steadily growing beard of Carl), but also at the constantly moving story, the amazing animation, and the appropriately chosen music. Especially the animation - Pixar's work is probably the very best, in my opinion, and each balloon looks different, each bush is unique, and watch out for the 'snipe' bird - Kevin, look at the feathers and the riot of colour on her tail! My favourite scene in all of the movie would be the one where Carl sets off, where the balloons burst forth, in a multi-coloured palette against the sky. You can almost feel the rubbery texture, you can almost experience the wind that propels the house and Carl along their journey. Yes, that's how good Pixar's animation is!

In fact, colour has been used rather intelligently in Up. You will probably not fail to notice the shifts from vibrantly coloured scenes to diffused, almost black-and-white - when the mood changes from happy to sombre and sad. This is especially apparent in the first half of the movie, where a young Carl and Ellie are decorating the nursery, and then the scene shifts to a drab, sparsely furnished, predominantly grey hospital room where Ellie is told that she can never become a mother.

It's impossible not to be taken in with Up. It's sweet, it's inspiring, and while seemingly simple - there's a complex message hidden underneath it. It's never too late to follow through with a promise. It's never too late to go ahead and do what you've been dreaming about all these years. So go ahead, take the road less travelled, and who knows? You might have some really unlikely adventures along the way!

Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! (2008), based on the hit musical, is directed by Phyllida Lloyd, and tells the story of a young bride-to-be wanting to find her father, before walking down the aisle. She sends out invitations to the three men she thinks the most likely, but the problem arises when all three of them land up for the wedding, each thinking she's his daughter! The story is told through Abba songs, Sophie (the bride-to-be) singing "Honey Honey" about her to-be-husband, and Donna singing "Dancing Queen" to prove to herself she's still young and 'with it' - just as examples.

This film is a total waste of time. The only reason I sat through it is because I always like to watch a movie right through to the end, no matter how bad it is, and believe me, this one was tough to sit through. Meryl Streep made me cringe, her sisters were even worse, and I couldn't believe that Colin Firth had stooped to this level! (Don't even get me started on Pierce Brosnan, whom I've never liked anyway and who just slipped a few notches lower in my esteem of him.)

Perhaps the highlights of the movie were the Greece scenery and Amanda Seyfried's blonde hair. But that's about it.

One could argue that the Abba songs make the movie what it is, but I disagree. I'm an Abba fan, and I think I'd much rather just listen to them on their own than be tortured by a movie such as this. Mamma Mia! is badly directed, badly written, completely implausible, over-the-top in the acting, and made me want to send out an "SOS"!

Coraline.

Coraline (2009) is a stop-motion animation film directed by Henry Selick, based on Neil Gaiman's novel. It follows the story of a young girl named Coraline, who takes to exploring the house her family has moved into. She finds a passageway into the Other World, where her parents (crabby and too busy in real life) cook amazing meals and are 'loving', where her room looks pretty and well made-up, where her neighbours run circuses and burlesque acts - the Other World seems a Utopia of sorts, where everything seems perfect. But the only worrisome fact is that the Other Mother seems to want to sew buttons on to Coraline's eyes, making her belong there forever. What follows is a Gothic fairytale of sorts, where Coraline, increasingly tempted by the perfect visions, realises all is not as it seems, and that she must use her intelligence and resources to save her parents when they are captured by the Other Mother.

Coraline seems extremely influenced by Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass - with its subject matter of walking into another world, a world where everything seems inverted (perfect), a world where amongst all the beauty, there is a hint of violence. In a nutshell, it's a moral table - Don't disobey your parents, appreciate what you have, and eat your vegetables! But that's not all the movie is. It's dark, it's creepy in parts, and even though the movie's second half progresses too slowly for comfort, it's a piece of work that stays with you.

Dakota Fanning is fantastic as Coraline, Teri Hatcher (of Desperate Housewives fame) voices the Mother and the Other Mother, and Jennifer Saunders is there in the film as well - remember the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2? The animation is great - without any insult to the animators of this movie, it's a very Tim Burton-esque style that is distinctive - quite comparable to Corpse Bride. Incidentally, Coraline comes from the same guy who was behind A Nightmare Before Christmas (which was written by Tim Burton).

Coraline is a gripping watch, for more reasons than one. It's visually stunning, the differences between the two worlds shown up spectacularly not just in terms of subject details but also in animation, it's cute in a rather bizarre way, and the script is strong too. Mention must be made of the music, which fits the mood of the movie perfectly.

Despite a predictable plot and a rather dragging pace towards the end, the movie works. Kudos to director Henry Selick for coming out with a movie that is not just for kids, but also for adults. Much fuss, in fact, has been made of whether this movie is suitable for kids - but don't kids watch much worse stuff nowadays? And adults like us are sure to find relevant messages and perhaps even sexual metaphors in the movie. Watch carefully to know what I'm talking about.

Coraline is definitely worth a watch. With its dark, understated themes of perfection not being what it seems, of a young child's discontentment, of the age-old Good vs. Evil battle - it's eerie in its picturesqueness, Gothic in its style, and really quite memorable.

Elizabethtown.

Elizabethtown, an offering from Cameron Crowe in 2005. The tagline goes, "It's a heck of a place to find yourself." Snippets from the DVD cover read the movie as a "life-affirming, heartfelt story", and then, "Every once in a while, a movie transports you to a place where heart, humour, incredible music, and an unforgettable story meet... Welcome to Elizabethtown."

Right. So the story goes something like this - Drew (Orlando Bloom) is faced both with the death of his father and a spectacular failure in his career (where he has somehow managed to lose his company around 1 billion dollars), and he travels to Kentucky for his father's burial. He meets flight attendant Clair Colburn (creepy stalker-ish woman who apparently has an 'unstoppably positive nature' according to DVD cover, and whose Southern accent comes and goes.) After that, the movie loses track. We're taken to scenes of the cliche Southern family, the father's burial, Susan Sarandon doing a ridiculous tap-dance and talking enthusiastically about her neighbour's hard-on at her husband's memorial service (no less!)... And, well, do I need to say more?

I always like to watch a movie right through to the end, no matter how good or bad it is. This was one movie that made me itch to switch it off after just half an hour. I've never liked Kirsten Dunst, and as for Orlando Bloom - well, the acting is pretty darn bad! Alec Baldwin's bit role is laughable, and sadly, Judy Greer's talents (remember What Women Want, and 13 Going On 30) are completely unutilised. I'm not sure about the direction - I haven't watched enough of Crowe's work to really judge. While I did like Jerry Maguire, I couldn't understand Vanilla Sky at all (but then again, I've seen just the first half), and I haven't watched Almost Famous, which is apparently one of his best.

At parts in the movie, I felt like whacking the characters for being so darn irritating. Drew, for one, seems more interested in getting into Claire's pants than mourning for his father. And as for Claire, well, that irritating camera-click action and her constant talk of Ben (the supposed boyfriend) made me want to scream. Loudly.

Of course, the movie does have its strong points. The soundtrack is spectacular - listen for U2, The Hollies, The Temptations, Tom Petty, and the song Moon River too! Add to that some really spectacular cinematography (just occasionally, though) - case in point - Drew scattering his father's ashes along his road trip.

That apart though, this movie has nothing to offer. I suppose you could read it as a person finding himself, or one woman's bubbly nature bringing a man out of his misery, or even as two souls coming together - but I, for one, was left feeling a little vague when the movie ended. And perhaps a sense of relief. Because the characters are not believable in any way, the plot seems stupid at times, and even the dialogue seems disjointed.

Watch it if you have nothing better to do. If you don't like it, well, you'll know what I'm talking about. If you do like it, well, drop me a line and try and convince me that there's something (apart from the music and the camerawork) in the movie that's worth paying attention to.

The Brave One.

"There is no going back, to that other person, that other place. This thing, this stranger, she is all you are now." - Erica Bain, in The Brave One.

Welcome to the world of the attacked. Say hello to the people who have come face-to-face with real crime, the people who want to fight back instead of waiting for the police or the government to take action. Neil Jordan's 2007 movie The Brave One deals with a subject especially close to my heart - is it possible to carry on after being a victim, or should one take a stand?

In the film, Erica Bain (Jodie Foster), a radio show host, is attacked while out on a walk with her boyfriend David (Naveen Andrews). David succumbs to his injuries, and Erica is left to carry on with her life, but she makes a choice not to be a victim any longer, to fight back against those who harrass her on the Subway and in other places, those who deprive others of their right to life and property. She becomes a vigilante of sorts, protecting herself and others from being victims of crime. Enter Detective Mercer (Terence Howard) who is investigating the killings, the archetype of the 'good cop'.

Jodie Foster excels, as usual. The film belongs to her, through and through. You can see the fear in her eyes, the rage and the decision to fight. Foster always seems to carry through the role of the "strong woman" well - be it in this movie, or in Panic Room, or even in Flightplan. Terence Howard is good as well, puts in a solid and stable performance. The soundtrack is brilliant - the song "Answer" by Sarah McLachlan, in particular.

There is plenty wrong with the movie, though. Firstly, there is the rather unimaginative title. Secondly, Erica learns to handle a gun with unusual ease, and that's where the movie begins to get unrealistic. And then, there's the ending - you'd have bought it, had Detective Mercer not made overtly ethical speeches previously, that he would have the strength to put away someone he likes. But as it stands, the ending leaves a rather sour after-taste. It's predictable, and spoils what could have been a near-perfect movie.

But The Brave One wins brownie points for dealing with a subject that we should all think about. What do we do when attacked? Do we simply carry on, and avoid the chances of more attacks? Do we lock ourselves up and refuse to face a crime-infested world? Or do we go out there, with a promise to be stronger next time, to stand up for our rights? The movie makes you consider whether it's ethical to kill other killers, whether the idea of a vigilante is a suitable one, and whether criminals should be given a taste of their own medicine.

Despite being unrealistic and unpredictable at times, it's a movie that everyone should watch - anyone who has ever had a wallet snatched, anyone who has been given the occasion feel-up on a crowded street, anyone who has ever been beaten up by a gang of thugs. It's for you, and you, and you - all of you who have had to deal with trauma and terror. Perhaps taking a gun and shooting the wrong-doers out there is a little extreme, but the movie seems to tell you that there's no point being a victim any longer. I've been a victim, and I identify with the rage that Erica feels.

Sometimes, the line between ethics and revenge is a very fine one. And it's tempting to cross it.