For the month of August...

Best Film of the Month: Stardust

Didn't watch a film bad enough to be considered for worst film of the month.

August 29, 2007

The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Director: Don Bluth
Writers: Don Bluth, Will Finn, Gary Goldman, Robert C. O'Brien, and John Pomeroy
Starring: Derek Jacobi, Elizabeth Hartman, Arthur Malet, Dom DeLuise, and Hermione Baddeley
Co-Starring: Shannen Doherty, Will Wheaton, Jodi Hicks, Ian Fried, John Carradine, and Peter Strauss
Description: Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse, lives in a cinder block with her children on the Fitzgibbon farm. She is preparing to move her family out of the field they live in as plowing time approaches, however her son Timothy has fallen ill, and moving him could prove fatal. Mrs. Frisby visits The Great Owl, a wise creature who advises her to visit a mysterious group of rats who live beneath a rose bush on the farm. Upon visiting the rats, Frisby meets Nicodemus, the wise and mystical leader of the rats, and Justin, a friendly rat who immediately becomes attached to Mrs. Frisby. While there, she learns that her late husband, Mr. Jonathon Frisby, along with the rats, was a part of a series of experiments at a place known only as N.I.M.H. (revealed earlier in the story as the National Institute of Mental Health). The experiments performed on the mice and rats there boosted their intelligence, allowing them to read without being taught and to understand things such as complex mechanics and electricity. The rats and Mr. Frisby escaped from N.I.M.H. and came to live on the Fitzgibbon farm. The rats created a home for themselves under Mrs. Fitzgibbon's rose bush, creating an elaborate habitation of beautiful chambers, elevators, and Christmas lights. However, the rats are unhappy in their dependence on the humans, who they are stealing electricity from, and have concocted a plan to leave the farm and live independently. Because of her husband's prior relationship with the rats, they agree to help Mrs. Frisby move her home out of the path of the plow. However, the evil Jenner and his unwilling accomplice Sullivan, who wish to remain beneath the rose bush, yet plot to kill Nicodemus during the move.
Rating: B+
In a word... refreshing.

August 28, 2007

Stardust (2007)
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Writers: Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn, Neil Gaiman, and Charles Vess
Starring: Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Robert DeNiro
Co-Starring: Charlie Cox, Ian McKellen, Nathaniel Parker, and Peter O'Toole
Description: In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.
Rating: A-
In a word... fantabulous.

August 3, 2007

The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Director: David Silverman
Writers: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Grah, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder, and Jon Vitti
Starring: Dan Castallaneta, Julie Cavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, and Hank Azaria
Co-Starring: Marcia Wallace, Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool, Mike Dirnt, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Joel Mantegna, Albert Brooks, Russi Taylor, etc. etc. etc.
Description: Homer adopts a pig who's run away from Krusty Burger after Krusty tried to have him slaughtered, naming the pig "Spider Pig." At the same time, the lake is protected after the audience sink the barge Green Day are on with garbage after they mention the environment. Meanwhile, Spider Pig's waste has filled up a silo in just 2 days, apparently with Homer's help. Homer can't get to the dump quickly so dumps the silo in the lake, polluting it. Russ Cargill, the villainous boss of the EPA, gives Arnold Schwarzenegger 5 options, forcing him to choose 4 (which is, unfortunately, to destroy Springfield) and putting a dome over Springfield to prevent evacuation. Homer, however, has escaped, along with his family. Can he stop the evil Cargill from annihilating his home town, and his family, who have been forced to return to Springfield?
Rating: B+
In a word... spiderpig!