Fantastic Mr. Fox

George Clooney leads an all star cast of voice actors who are genuinely portraying the characters on the screen. That's a relief. "Kung Fu Panda" and "Shrek 3" had me worrying that, from now on, the characters would be based around the actors they found instead of vice versa. Clooney is good in the role, despite being constantly outshined by co-star Meryl Streep.

Together they are Mr. and Mrs. Fox, who are (as you can guess) foxes. Mr. Fox is a former chicken thief who, at the request of his wife, found a different line of work. He is an unsuccessful columnist who wants nothing more than to move out of his hole in the ground, and into a nice tree. A nice tree in a bad neighborhood, it seems, as he finds himself next door to Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. Three farmers so mean the local children sing songs about them.

The Farmers are uninterested in their new neighbors until Mr. Fox is unable to keep his desire to steal chickens in check. His actions alone cause his family, and all his neighbors to move deep underground. Mrs. Fox reminds us that the story will end when everyone dies, unless Mr. Fox can change his ways.

The rugged, often flat (it is a Wes Anderson film, after all), look of the film just adds to the growing absurdity of a film that starts with talking foxes and ends with an assault-by-pinecone war against the three farmers. At what point was it made clear that the animals could talk to the farmers? Most of the film, you get the impression that the farmers see the animals as just primal beasts. Irrelevant, really. The film never quite jumps the shark. If it does, it's such a gradual take off I didn't even notice.

The film is funny, as it is also very touching. There aren't many jokes or punchlines, just classic situation-based comedy mixed with witty dialog. This is a film where, you can honestly see all the elements working together to form something better than the sum of it's parts. Perhaps the greatest thrill of the film, however, is the fact that I am now convinced that, despite advancements in cell and computer animation, Stop Motion is hear to stay.


*** out of ****

The Men Who Stare at Goats

The Men Who Stare at Goats is based on a true story. How true? That's debatable, though you can certainly tell that more of it is false than true. But then again, before the title we are informed that more of this is true than you realize. Somehow I felt that, in my crowded theater, about 70% of the people may have been trying to determine fact from fiction. If you do this, you might be missing the point entirely. This isn't a docudrama, but a hilarious, feel good farce.

Ewan MacGregor is a reporter who has something to prove to himself, and to all then people around him. He wants to show that he can be just as much of a man as everyone else. For this reason, he hops the first plane to Iraq to be a War Correspondent. It's there he meets Lyn, played by George Clooney, a former army "psychic soldier". And thus, a road comedy is born.

A road comedy through War Torn Iraq, of course. Inept security details, hostage situations, general combat, and general incompetence are given the highlight as MacGregor's Bob Wilton and Clooney's Lyn Cassady. While locked in a windowless room, Cassady reveals to Wilton the true reason he is in Iraq- He is on a secret mission from Bill Django.

Bill Jango is a man we learn about through a series of flashbacks. Interested in pioneering combat alternatives, he begins training psychic soldiers (but, of course, they have to dance first). Django did a great deal of research into the subject-by using LSD, living in communes, and becoming part of the new age movement. Played by Jeff Bridges, we know have a glimpes of what would have happened if "The Dude" joined the Army.

At this point your probably wondering what part of this story is true. Please try your best to stay away from such a counterproductive train of thought. This movie is about soldiers who were trained to be psychic soldiers, people who were referred to as "Jedi Warriors." So clearly, we are not supposed to care about the true or false aspect of it. Early on in the film, Jeff Bridges recites his Oath as a Jedi Warrior. It's played up for laughs. When the Oath is revisited, it's nothing short of triumphant.


*** out of ****